Ayuso wants to hit the ground running for first race away from UAE: “We’re going to have fun and test the legs for real”

Ayuso has already shown in training that the legs appear to be in good shape. “I’ve come directly from Teide, so the preparations are going quite well. I've been there for three weeks with the team, and yeah, it's one of the camps I've most enjoyed,” Ayuso told Domestique. “Up to now, it's been a really nice period with the team, but now the real work starts tomorrow, and I hope I can be ready.”

In the Algarve, the Spanish climber will line up directly against UAE Team Emirates–XRG, the squad he left behind in dramatic fashion during the Vuelta a España. Ayuso kept things measured when asked about racing his old team. “As you say, I think it's the first race, I'll race directly against them, apart from Worlds or Europeans, but there you're racing for the national team. But at the end of the day, there's a lot of other teams that are also strong, so yeah, have to pay attention to everyone,” he said.

Ayuso also stayed calm under the inevitable questions about UAE. In Portugal, João Almeida will lead the Emirati team — and the Portuguese rider sees plenty of similarities between them. “I think we’re pretty similar riders, he’s probably a little stronger than me in the time trial, and then when it comes to climbing, I think we are pretty similar, so I think it’s going to be a good race, we’re going to have fun and test the legs for real,” Almeida said.

During and after the Ayuso-UAE fallout, Almeida was consistently understanding about his departing teammate. Ayuso, for his part, also feels the two are alike in how they handle the spotlight. “I think we’re quite similar people in terms of managing pressure and stress, both quite calm on the bus, and it’s going to be the first time we are on a different bus, so yeah, that’s the only different part,” Ayuso explained.

Ayuso expects the overall race to be decided in the queen stage rather than the time trial — unlike last year, when Jonas Vingegaard’s ride against the clock proved decisive. “Before I thought it was mainly going to be the time trial, but after seeing the climb, it’s much harder than what I expected, so I think Thursday is the day where the most time gaps can be made, but then of course the time trial or the last day can be decisive too,” he told Domestique.

Still, the individual time trial will be crucial — in more than one way. Ayuso sees Algarve as a chance to keep sharpening his TT package with Lidl-Trek. With a 19.5-kilometre chrono on the menu, the race offers a first proper test of the work done behind the scenes. “I’m confident my set-up is going to be good but this is a chance to keep improving on those small details. Having the support of the engineers from Trek has helped create a really fast set-up and I had really good values in the track test,” Ayuso said on his team’s website.