Juan Ayuso says he is excited to be leading the UAE Team Emirates-XRG attack at next week's Giro d’Italia in the absence of talismanic teammate Tadej Pogacar.
The Spaniard, 22, is widely regarded as one of the leading contenders for the Giro in what will be his debut in the three-week Grand Tour race that runs from May 9 to June 1.
Last year, Pogacar secured the Giro title in what was his debut in the race and would go on to complete a historic triple crown by also securing victory in the Tour de France and World Championship.
UAE Emirates-XRG team principal Mauro Gianetti revealed in February that Pogacar would not be defending his Giro title this year, with the Slovenian superstar focusing retaining the Tour de France and possibly targeting his first Vuelta a Espana crown.
The pre-race favourite in Italy this year will be Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe rider Primroz Roglic, 35, a four-time Vuelta winner, Giro champion and an eight-time GT podium finisher.
Ayuso, though, is expected to challenge the experienced Roglic with the 22-year-old having twice finished in the top four of the Vuelta and has proved to be one of the best one-week racers in the peloton since joining the World Tour in 2022.
Whether he can translate that into an elite three-week performance which can upset Roglic remains to be seen.
Ayuso heads into the race on the back of a first victory in the Tirreno-Adriatico, as well as triumphing in the La Drome Classic, Trofeo Laiguelia and finishing second overall in the Volta a Catalunya this year.
“I'm really excited, and no, it cannot be any other way,” Ayuso said in a virtual media day Zoom meeting. “It's the only Grand Tour I still haven't raced. I've raced many times the World Tour, last year I raced the Tour, and I still have to discover the Giro.
“When you go to a new race, and especially that new race being your whole objective, it is a boost of motivation.
“I mean, I'm just super excited. There's a lot of emotion going into it now, because as I say, it's a race I still have to discover.
“From what they've told me, it's one of the most beautiful races on the calendar. So, of course, when we finish the Giro and we have another interview, I could tell you how it went.
“But from now on, I'm just super motivated to get to next week and be there in Albany.”
As far as preparation for the upcoming race, Ayuso is delighted with how things have gone. “The training camp has been perfect with the support of the team,” he said.
“We have here a lot of awesome members of staff, we have nearly double the staff as riders here and it helps a lot and it helps you really to concentrate, to focus on what's important.
“Up to now, as I speak not only for myself but also for my teammates, we've had no issues and we've been training really well all together, so, I think yeah, we have a really, really strong team and every day we keep on motivating ourselves.
“At the same time you're training and you're getting better, you see also your teammates that are on a super good level and we're all really convinced that we have a really good chance of doing a great Giro d'Italia.”
With Pogacar and two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard both skipping the Giro, this year’s race appears to have opened up for a host of contenders to challenge for the title.
But while the likes of 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Michael Storer (Tudor), and Ayuso's teammate Adam Yates will provide stern opposition, Ayuso still believes Roglic is the man to beat.
“For me, he's the biggest favourite,” he said. “He's the rider that has won many Grand Tours already. I've never won it, so I think the pressure's on him. And as I say, we as a team, we go with the motivation that we think it's possible, but there's not that extra pressure.
“My level has gone up and it's the year I have been closest to him. I've never beaten him until this year in Catalunya where I got him in the stage at the end. We lost the GC but it was down to a very thin margin and I think in three weeks I hope it's different.”
Ayuso’s boss Gianetti, meanwhile, hailed his rider's progress since joining the team in the summer of 2021.
“He’s immensely talented and has shown improvement every passing year,” said the Swiss of Ayuso.
“We know the Giro is a very hard race, a lot of contentment, a lot of knowledge, but we know for Juan it is possible.
“This is why at the Giro we create a strong team to support him in any kind of stages, mountain stages, flood stages, the time trial will be a lot but we know he is a special.
“We believe strongly in the possibility to win the Giro but at the same time we will not charge the responsibility to be obligated to win. Being possible is better, like always we say, is a positive emotion and I hope and I wish Juan in the Giro will be filled with the opportunity to achieve success.”
UAE Team Emirates-XRG have racked up 35 wins with 14 different riders this year so far, including Pogacar’s third success in the UAE Tour in February.
“We know how much the team is important for the UAE, not just from a point of view of result but a point of view of motivation, like an example to follow, use the bike, do sport, be healthy,” Gianetti added.
“Every member of the team, riders, staff, they feel proud to represent the UAE, to wear their shirt all through the season around the world, the jersey that represents the country.
“We are very proud of the company and we are very proud of the goal of the season every year.”
