After Pogacar show, Ayuso takes the spotlight again, but not against Vingegaard: "Stop with the comparison"

Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won Tirreno-Adriatico so convincingly earlier this month that it was clear the competition would have their work cut out when the Tour of Catalonia gets underway on Monday. Unfortunately, Jonas Vingegaard is not on the start list, but Egan Bernal (INEOS) and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull) are. A good test ahead of the Giro d'Italia, after a fantastic winter. After his overall victory in the Tirreno, 22-year-old Ayuso took plenty of time to discuss it with a small group of journalists, including IDLProCycling.com.

Congratulations on your overall victory, Juan. Before the Tirreno, you told me that there is still room for improvement in form after a great winter. In what ways have you grown over the past seven days?

"I think I have grown a lot, especially mentally, with the difficult stages of the rain and cold we experienced. I had a few days like that before Tirreno, maybe two or three times in my career. They will help me prepare for the Giro, where we will undoubtedly have days like that. I will have to get used to it."

Did you also have less satisfying moments in this Tirreno when things didn't go as you had hoped?

"Of course, I had a hard time with the cold and the rain. After the third day of 240 kilometers, I thought it couldn't get any worse, but the next day, it was even colder on the descent. However, seeing other riders suffer does help. It gets you through, and you see it as an important learning process in the run-up to May. I knew I had to push through moments like that and would have to do so more often. Nevertheless, my legs felt good all week, so I had to stay focused."

Read more below the photo.

Juan Ayuso made the difference in the Tirreno in the time trial and uphill race

Juan Ayuso talks about the Pogacar comparison

How important is it for you to perform this season as the team's solo leader after dealing with Pogacar last year?

"I like to feel that pressure, but not necessarily from the team, but more for myself. I want to perform and become the best rider I can be. You have to seize every opportunity in this team because we are the best team, with many riders who can ride for the win. Last year was different because my first big goal in the Tour de France was not for myself but for a teammate. I wasn't used to that, so the goal is to feel that pressure again this year. I love that."

So it was good that Tadej wasn't there?

"Well, when Tadej is competing, you ride for him because he is the best in the world. That's why I say: if you get the chance on this team, you have to show yourself, prove yourself, and show that you are worth it, so I am happy that I won the Tirreno."

Do you like the Spanish Pogacar title you earned in Spain after your results this season?

"On the one hand, it's nice because they are saying they compare me to the best rider in the world. But on the other hand, I don't like it very much, and it doesn't have much to do with Tadej. Even when they compared me to Miguel Indurain or Alberto Contador in the past, that's not something I necessarily like. They are all better than me, so I prefer to be myself, win the races I should win, and lose the races I should lose. Stop with the comparisons."

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Juan Ayuso talks about Isaac Del Toro and life without a bicycle

There are countless duos in the peloton that work extremely well as a leader and super domestique. You seem to have a special relationship with Isaac Del Toro. Can you tell us more about that?

"Yes, we have a very good friendship. He helped me last year in this race, and since then, I have unfortunately not ridden much with him. This year, we raced together again in the Ardeche and now in the Tirreno, so pretty much everything. He helped me a lot, and I am thankful to him. We are going to the Giro together, hoping he can help me. But in the future, I hope to be able to ride for him, too, because Isaac can win races himself."

What do you do when not cycling, whether during a race or on training days?

"Lying in bed, haha! Then I do nothing and try to recover. Of course, you go for a walk, but it's really about relaxing."

And what do you like to eat out of season, the things you often have to go without during the year?

"Probably ordering food at home. Whatever it may be, even if it is very healthy. I just have to balance everything and know exactly what I'm eating. You can never be completely sure about home delivery, so after the Giro d'Italia, I can eat other things again without stress. Fortunately, I'm used to it now, and we have good chefs on the team who make tasty things. It's not just rice and eggs anymore."

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Isaac Del Toro

Juan Ayuso talks about the Giro d'Italia and his skills riding uphill

In this Tirreno, you have already raced against many riders you will also encounter in the Giro. Do you study your competitors closely, or are you only concerned with yourself?

"Both, actually. You mainly focus on yourself because you have little influence on what others do. However, you also need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents so you can adapt to them during the race. That's how you beat them. I've raced against some men, such as Primoz Roglic, before. He's always beaten me, by the way. Hopefully, I can change that in the Giro."

Your Tirreno sports director, Fabrizio Guidi, told me that you have only started to look at the bigger picture this winter and are more concerned with the things around you. Have you found things in this that you still need to improve on your way to the Giro?

"It's true what you say; I have shifted my focus to the bigger picture and my main goal. I am going for the Giro, so I am not training too much for May. After Tirreno, I will do Catalunya, but that is it. Maybe I could have gone for the Basque Country in this form, but I am focusing on my big goal, and everything else comes second to that. I can still progress if my body absorbs Tirreno and Catalunya and then does altitude training. If I look at what I have been able to do at altitude recently, we might have to make some small adjustments, but I believe I can still grow."

During the December training camp, you mentioned that you had significantly changed, including incorporating the gym. How important has the gym been to your growth curve this year?

"That's right. I have rarely gone to the gym in previous years. It is now a regular part of my schedule, but it is not the only reason I have grown so much. I am also simply more mature now and a year older. It all comes with time, and I have also put in more hours in the winter. I was already at my target racing weight in January, usually three or four months later. I have never worked so hard."

In the bigger picture, have you already explored any Giro stages?

"Yes, the gravel stage to Siena will be a very important and dangerous day for the GC riders. But I have also studied the time trial to Pisa, a long time trial with big differences. Besides that, we haven't explored much because you can't get to many mountain passes right now because of the snow."

Finally, it seems you have a real, advantage this season over others for the first time. How does it feel mentally to be a rider at a bit of an advantage?

"Phew, if you have better legs, everything is easier. In the peloton and on the climbs, it's not that different because everyone is fighting for the best position. Even if everyone knows you are the strongest, you must work for it. But once on the climbs, I now have more power to make a difference, which was not the case in previous years."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])     

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