Coach Ayuso makes bold statement: "With the wattages he had, he would have undoubtedly finished ahead of Carapaz"

Ayuso gave a brief comment to Eurosport in Bormio: “It’s getting worse every day, it’s not normal. My knee hurts. The last time I really felt good was in the gravel stage,” the Spaniard explained. “But I’m staying in the race because I want to help the team. If that weren’t the case, I would’ve gone home long ago.”

In El País, his coach San Millán clarified the situation: “It was the crash that ultimately broke him. Juan suffered a deep cut in his knee that required stitches. The impact also caused trauma that led to swelling and a buildup of synovial fluid, which was very uncomfortable and painful during the stages, and even while walking.”

“In a stage race, any serious crash or injury becomes a major handicap to performance,” said Ayuso’s coach. “That’s because the body’s priority shifts to regenerating damaged tissue and healing the injury.”

“To do that, the body diverts a lot of energy resources toward recovery, resources that are also crucial for performance,” he explained. “Step by step, the energy deficit and fatigue increase, and as a result, he loses much of his physical capability. Unfortunately, even though his knee was starting to improve, in a stage race at today’s pace, that energy loss just can’t be recovered.”

San Millán, who also coached Pogacar in his early years, had high hopes for Ayuso going into the Giro. “Juan was extremely well-prepared, with the best numbers of his life right before coming here. He made a huge leap in quality this year. That physiological capacity from the early season races doesn’t just disappear. If Juan had stayed in good shape, with the wattages he had, he would have undoubtedly finished ahead of Carapaz. But after the crash, we never saw those numbers again.”

This Giro may be lost, but San Millán is confident Ayuso will come back stronger. “He’ll continue to develop, just like Tadej, who, even though he was already the best at 22 or 23, is only now reaching physiological maturity at 25 or 26. Juan’s best years are still ahead. If we can continue guiding his growth like we are now, we’ll have, at least in my humble opinion, a rider in the mold of Contador to enjoy for years to come,” said the Spaniard.