UAE Team Emirates’ Spanish youngster, Juan Ayuso – ‘Tadej Pogacar is helping me become a better rider’

“To be studying from and to be near the most effective rider on the earth is superb,” UAE Crew Emirates Juan Ayuso tells this week’s GCN Eurosport Biking Present. “He’s serving to me to turn out to be a greater rider.”

Winners beget winners. Whether or not from further sponsors or a rise in funding by originals, two Tour de France victories allow an outfit to draw a degree of economic backing that may flip it from a group with an incredible rider, to an incredible group. Although Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Crew Emirates are nonetheless a galactico or two shy of the supersquads of Ineos or Jumbo Visma, they’re very a lot on their manner. Stand-out names from their 2022 roster embrace Fleche Wallonne winner Marc Hirschi, multi-Grand Tour stage winner Matteo Trentin, and the star of Netflix’s Least Anticipated Day, gifted enfant horrible Marc Soler.

And, to considerably much less fanfare, in June final yr they added child Giro winner Ayuso to their ranks on a 5 yr contract. Although more and more frequent for groups to (golden) handcuff their stars into prolonged offers, to snap them onto a rider who had nonetheless not, at that time, began a single WorldTour race was, to say the least, eyebrow-raising.

A take a look at his junior document may decrease them slightly. Nonetheless simply 19, he has twice been Spanish males’s junior champion on the highway, and as soon as within the time trial class. He completed third in final yr’s under-23 European Championship highway race, and picked up two ten finishes within the extremely rated Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.

“I began after I was seven years outdated, so I’ve been racing a very long time,” he says, “however I nonetheless want to find myself a bit extra. I’m nonetheless younger and I’ll maintain enhancing.”

Although not fairly the Tour de l’Avenir, gained by Pogacar, the Child Giro – extra formally known as “the Giro Ciclistico d’Italia” – is a race that comes with loads of pedigree of its personal. Winners in recent times embrace Alexandr Vlasov, Pavel Sivakov and Tom Pidcock.

In addition to claiming the final classification, Ayuso took a formidable three phases. One was barely hilly, whereas the opposite two had been indisputably mountainous, whereas a kind of was even a summit end. Though providing hints at what sort of rider he’ll turn out to be, his future is way from set in stone:

“I nonetheless don’t know if I’m going to be extra of a puncheur, or a climber kind. I believe I nonetheless have to find this. Solely time will inform.”

Ayuso’s first WT battle started solely final month, on the Tour of Catalunya, the place he completed fifth general and got here second on the hilly stage that completed in La Molina.

“I’m pleased with my type,” he says. “It’s the primary time I’ve gone to altitude. I went to Sierra Nevada with Rui Costa.”

In his debut season at this degree, Ayusi and his group shall be aiming for stability:

“I’m on a studying curve,” Ayuso says, “so for positive I want to achieve expertise to continue learning, however on the identical time, we would like outcomes now, so if they’ll go collectively, then that’s what we would like.”

“I believe it’s going to be an incredible season,” he continues. “We’ve deliberate an incredible calendar that may assist me in my future to maintain enhancing. I simply should get pleasure from it and get on the highway and see the place I can carry out the most effective.”

Wanting additional into the longer term his ambitions are as huge as they arrive:

“As each child, while you develop up you dream of first driving the Tour de France, and now I dream of successful it. For me that’s my greatest purpose. There’s nonetheless a protracted solution to go, however I hope sooner or later I can obtain it.”

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