Sometimes, a rest day at a Grand Tour is reasonably quiet. It’s a time for everyone to recharge their batteries, to get some washing done, to go for a spin, just get your mind off cycling, really. But then, other times, a rest day is where all the action happens. This was true on the first rest day of this year’s Vuelta a España, when the evening was interrupted by a Juan Ayuso-shaped bombshell.
Another week, another contract row. After the Remco Evenepoel epic, and then the Derek Gee saga, which still hasn’t been resolved, we have the Ayuso rigmarole, which has actually been brought to a conclusion. After months of rumour of things not quite working, Ayuso has been released from his contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG three years early, and is therefore on the market for any available suitors.
The warning signs were there, with the 22-year-old having a tumultuous year since the 2024 Tour de France. At that race, there were doubts over his work in service of his team leader, Tadej Pogačar, doubts that continued to dog him through other races. At this year’s Giro d’Italia, he came in as a favourite, but left in the shadow of his younger teammate Isaac del Toro, who finished second overall as he abandoned. And then at this Vuelta, his performance has been strange, with a stunning stage win coming in the middle of mountain days where he lost buckets of time, while his teammate João Almeida seemed isolated.
Still, to release Ayuso from his contract seems like an extreme step, evidence of a relationship that is unrepairable. This is not just any other bike rider, but one of the most promising talents in Grand Tour riding, a man who has won stages at both the Vuelta and Giro, and finished on the podium of the Vuelta at 19. He is a winner of Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia Basque Country, and looks as likely as any other to be the first Spanish GT winner since Alberto Contador.
UAE didn’t have to let Ayuso go; they are supremely wealthy and the contract ran until 2028, but clearly they feel it’s better to not have him on the team. Just writing that seems quite powerful. Of course, there is a hierarchy at UAE with Pogačar at the top, then Almeida and Del Toro, followed by the other general classification talents stacked up at that team. There are only three Grand Tours a year, but leadership opportunities are there to be taken, if you play the game of being a good teammate at other times. It appeared Ayuso didn’t want to play the game enough.
Team and rider statements are normally bland affairs, interesting for what they don’t say rather than for what they do. However, UAE’s press release saying “a decision was made following differences in the vision of development plans and in the alignment with the team’s sporting philosophy” says a lot. Ayuso said something similar in his own message: “I feel it's time to find an environment that better aligns with who I am and with my values, a place where I can continue to develop with complete confidence and peace of mind.”
Speaking before stage 10 of the Vuelta, Ayuso went further, alleging that UAE's management was trying to harm his image by announcing the move mid-race.
"I'd have liked for things to have ended well with the team, and during all the negotiations before the Vuelta, that's what we tried to do," he said.
"But at times, you can't do that when it's more like a dictatorship and an exercise of power over me."
This all leaves Ayuso without a team for 2026. He undoubtedly has suitors – Lidl-Trek, Ineos Grenadiers and Movistar are rumoured – as he might, as one of the few GC talents on the rung below Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. His exit, though, might give few pause for thought. If Ayuso didn’t fit in at UAE, would he fit in elsewhere? Other teams can give him undivided leadership opportunities, but there might always be times when he has to ride in the service of someone else. The same tensions and doubts might appear again, then.
As for now, with this public break-up taking place in the middle of the three-week Vuelta, things are odd. Speaking to Spanish newspaper AS before the news was confirmed, UAE manager Joxean Fernández Matxin said that Ayuso’s role would be to support Almeida "as much as possible."
"That's his role, and every rider's role. When Juan's job is to be in the break, we'll make sure he's there, and when it's his turn to work for the team, he'll do that, just as they have done for him," he said. "That's beyond any doubt, for him and for everybody."
That’s easy to say, but in practice, things might be a bit more complicated. There could be drama to come, on the roads of northern Spain. It’s worth watching.
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If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com, or comment below.
