Spain’s next Tour de France champion? Juan Ayuso prepares for debut in 2024

UAE Team Emirates’ Spanish star looks back on childhood memories of the Tour, reveals his national heroes and casts an eye towards this summer’s Grande Boucle

20:10, Thursday 15th February 2024

George Poole

Junior Writer

Juan Ayuso is embarking on his third full season with UAE Team Emirates

Fresh from a winter of smooth preparations and with the promise of a Tour de France debut to come in the summer, Juan Ayuso began his 2024 campaign on Monday with great expectations. Lining up for the first time this year, Ayuso rode to a commendable if not spectacular 20th place at the Clásica Jaén for UAE Team Emirates, as fellow Spaniard Oier Lazkano of Movistar sealed a spectacular victory from the breakaway.

Ayuso and Lazkano are two of the young Spanish hopes to follow in the footsteps of riders like Alejandro Valverde, and win races of the highest order. But as Ayuso reflected back at UAE Team Emirates’ training camp in Spain over the winter, filling the cleats of bygone Spanish stars is no such easy job.

“They have left us a somewhat difficult task, the legends we have had like Valverde, [Alberto] Contador, Purito [Rodríguez] and all the others, is a difficult gap to fill,” Ayuso told GCN and other members of the media.

Where Lazkano seems to be stepping cautiously into the one-day race void left by four-time Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Valverde, Ayuso’s eyes are set firmly on stage race success and becoming the first Spanish winner of a Grand Tour since Alberto Contador.

Since the height of Contador’s success - which yielded seven Grand Tour titles - only Enric Mas of Movistar has come close to flying the Spanish flag on the top step of a podium, with a handful of second-place finishes at the Vuelta a España to his name.

In truth, though, Ayuso, third place himself at the Vuelta in his first full professional season, is the biggest talent the country has produced since the man known as El Pistolero. Furthermore, at just 21 years of age, Ayuso is already the figurehead of Spain’s new generation of riders.

Such a burden on young shoulders may be a well-earned compliment for Ayuso, but it does raise an obvious question: is he too young to have the responsibility for taking the reins of Spanish cycling?

“That does not weigh me down,” Ayuso was quick to answer, “because it means that we have had some legends from our country and thanks to them I started cycling and it made me dream that I could do it too. It is a motivation for me that people think I can become as good as them. More than pressure, it is a big motivation.”

'I grew up watching Contador and Valverde ride the Tour, now I can be one of them'

Juan Ayuso won the white jersey at the Vuelta a España in 2023

The charismatic Ayuso is every bit the superstar that was promised when he became the youngest Vuelta a España podium finisher in history just a couple of years ago. He has since won stages of both the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie, whilst his elegant style on the bike paints the picture of a rider rarely in trouble.

With a fourth place finish at the Vuelta a España, Ayuso has arguably dethroned Mas as Spain’s biggest challenger for Grand Tour success, and with the backing of the number 1 ranked UCI WorldTeam, he has all the tools in the world at his disposal.

But what stands out from the conversation with the Spaniard is not the pressure to succeed that one might imagine could come with such status, nor the burden to become Spain’s latest great champion, but the continued importance of sporting heroes in his story to date.

After two seasons spent riding the Vuelta a España as part of his tutelage, Ayuso has been named in UAE Team Emirates’ squad for the Tour de France this summer, alongside Adam Yates and Tadej Pogačar. It will be a moment to remember for the 21-year-old, as he makes his debut in the sport’s biggest race.

“When I started riding a bike my dream was always to ride the Tour, I grew up watching Contador, Valverde and Purito ride the Tour and now I can be there and be one of them. Without a doubt, it is a great motivation.”

For some, the Tour de France is a faraway spectacle that captures the imagination through a TV screen - Ayuso’s teammate Isaac del Toro told GCN of watching Nairo Quintana on television as a child in Mexico - but for those who live in Europe, the Tour can be seen from roadside, inspiring thousands of young cyclists along the way.

“I think it was two or three summers that I went to the Alps and the Pyrenees to see the Tour as a child,” revealed Ayuso. “[Chris] Froome was dominating back then and Contador was also in the mix.

“Making my debut in the race that I had been going to watch since I was little - when I put on the Tour jerseys that were too big for me because there were none in my size - being able to try to fight for them now is the biggest dream I can have as a cyclist and it will be emotional this year that I can get to ride it myself.”

At the time, the Tour de France was simultaneously at arm’s reach and something of a fantasy for Ayuso. The ambition to reach the top of the sport, however, was always there. Despite being born in Barcelona, Ayuso was brought up on Spain’s eastern coast, and impressed in the junior ranks before being signed by UAE Team Emirates as a 17-year-old. His talent far outweighed his years and was a mark of the athlete that team boss Matxin Joxean Fernández was adding to their ranks on a five-year deal.

“Since I was little I was always competitive and would throw tantrums when I didn't win, it's something I've worked on because now I lose more times than I win, so I don't get so angry when I lose,” he laughed.

“Now I see it with more maturity and at the end of the day I am sacrificing my entire life, I always try to give my best and when you put in so much effort you also want to be the best. Whether I will achieve it or not, I don't know, but it is part of the motivation and with that, each sacrifice becomes easier.”

Since his initial signature, Ayuso has put pen to paper on a fresh contract through to the end of 2028, and with two strong showings at the Vuelta a España behind him, the Spaniard is ready to prove himself on the sport’s grandest stage.

UAE Team Emirates eye up different cards to topple Vingegaard at Tour de France

It wasn’t always the plan that Ayuso would make his bow at the Tour de France this year. Instead, the 21-year-old had originally looked to follow a similar path to Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), in riding the Vuelta and the Giro d’Italia for his first few professional seasons, before attacking the Tour in his fourth year. To little surprise, the Spaniard’s development threw a welcome wrench in those plans.

“My debut has been brought forward because we had planned to debut in the Giro a year before going to the Tour, but seeing how I have evolved, I have asked the team to debut earlier in the Tour because I feel ready and they agreed.”

Ayuso emerged as one of UAE Team Emirates' main riders at team camp over the winter

Eyebrows were raised when Ayuso’s name joined the likes of Pavel Sivakov and João Almeida in UAE Team Emirates’ provisional squad for the Tour de France, with all three capable of leading other teams but sure to start the race behind Tadej Pogačar and Adam Yates in the team’s pecking order this summer. Contrary to initial concerns, Ayuso is quick to insist that the strength of UAE’s climbing department in France will be of great benefit to the team, rather than a hindrance.

“Tadej has shown that he is the number one and the leader of the team, but Jumbo has proved in the Vuelta a España that different cards can be played,” he noted. “We also did it during the Tour and it is something that we also have to do to take advantage for Tadej.”

The Spaniard was on the receiving end of the numbers game at the Vuelta last season, where Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič swept home a 1-2-3 finish for Jumbo-Visma, and left Ayuso unable to match his podium result from 2022. As the best of the rest in fourth place, though, the 21-year-old heads into 2024 a mature rider and one ready to seize hold of any opportunities which fall his way.

Ayuso keen for opportunities and looks to match compatriot Carlos Rodríguez

Ayuso will be a domestique de luxe but also possible back-up plan at the Tour de France

Ayuso will naturally begin the Tour as a workhorse by the side of Pogačar. Still, the Slovenian himself began the 2020 Tour de France as a domestique-deluxe for Fabio Aru, before laying siege on Roglič to take his first Tour victory. With Pogačar now set to ride the Giro d’Italia beforehand for the first time in his career, there is no certainty that the team roles assigned at the Grand Départ on 29 June will be the same once the race arrives in Nice.

Well aware that anything can happen once the flag drops, Ayuso is confident he is ready to assume team leadership should it be required of him.

“If I get the opportunity, I will obviously not give it up. It would be a big responsibility and I am going to prepare myself as best as possible to be in the best condition and, whatever the race situation, take advantage of the opportunities,” he said.

“Tadej is the leader but I am not going to give up any chances the team or the race offers me. Obviously, I will go out thinking about winning a stage, if the circumstances arise, and also being able to fight for my personal goals in the GC. “

Before last year’s Tour de France, there had been four fallow editions without a Spanish stage winner, much to the chagrin of the expectant public. But last year saw the country take victories through three different riders, the most since Contador won the Tour in 2009. In Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Spain were well represented, and in the former, Ayuso is seeking motivation ahead of his debut this summer.

“Winning a stage would be huge, I envy Carlos [Rodríguez] a little bit because I am always with him and this year he was able to achieve it,” he admitted. “That healthy rivalry is part of that motivation that makes me want to prepare myself as best as possible to be able to achieve it this year too.”

Whether it be a GC push in the space of a faltering Pogačar, a stage victory of his own or commendable work done on behalf of his teammates, a fit and firing Ayuso will no doubt be one of the strongest climbers at this year’s Tour de France. He will also be one of the happiest as he takes to the start in Émilie-Romagna for the Grand Départ.

For the man who used to pull on oversized jerseys as a child and cheer on the likes of Alberto Contador from the roadside, each push of a pedal this summer will be fulfilling a lifelong dream, and with that, Ayuso can be immensely proud.

“Every day I ride it doesn't feel like work, the best thing is to live from your dream, from what you've wanted since you were seven years old. For me, this is what fulfils me the most, along with raising my arms to celebrate a victory.”