Ayuso won't be allowed to participate in the Vuelta a España, nor will Del Toro, despite wild rumors

Failed: that's how we can describe Ayuso's Giro d'Italia, with a slight understatement. It sparked a new wave of rumors about his future, as it seems to be a less-than-happy marriage between the Spaniard and UAE Emirates-XRG. So, it remains to be seen what the rest of the year will look like for the former number three in the Vuelta a España—the Spanish newspaper AS outlined the situation.

The Giro had started on a bright note for Ayuso. The Spaniard delivered a strong time trial on stage two, gaining valuable seconds on several key rivals. The first major climbing test came on stage seven, where Ayuso surged to the summit first, claiming his maiden Grand Tour stage victory. However, the ninth stage across the Tuscan gravel roads marked the beginning of his troubles. A crash resulted in stitches in his knee. The pain in that knee then got worse and worse as the Giro progressed.

Ayuso was dropped in week 3. A bee sting proved to be the final straw, forcing Ayuso to abandon the Giro. It was another stroke of bad luck for the UAE star, who had also left last year’s Tour de France early after a COVID-19 infection. To make matters worse, his internal battle for leadership with Isaac Del Toro does not appear to have gone in his favour, leaving Ayuso’s standing within the team on increasingly shaky ground.

So the question remains. What is next for Ayuso? Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, he had already confirmed that he would be taking "a few weeks off the bike" after the Giro. The Spaniard will use the time to allow his injured knee to fully recover. As a result, it now seems unlikely that he will compete at the Spanish National Championships, which are scheduled for later this month. According to the same outlet, it is far more likely that Ayuso will return to racing on home soil at the Clásica San Sebastián on August 2. That race would serve as a build-up to his major target for the second half of the season, the World Championships in Rwanda.

There, he will face competition from the likes of teammate Tadej Pogačar. Beyond that, Ayuso’s autumn calendar remains somewhat unclear. AS reports that the Giro dell'Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine are on the schedule, though the Tour of Lombardy is not. Ayuso himself would reportedly like to race Il Lombardia, but the team has opted not to include him. The same is true for the Vuelta a España. Ayuso would also like to ride his home Grand Tour, but he has confirmed to various Spanish media that "it is not part of the plan."

UAE reportedly has a policy of not allowing riders under the age of 25 to take on two Grand Tours in a single season. But the question is whether that is true. UAE sports director Joxean Matxin reportedly told Sports Illustrated Mexico that Del Toro will indeed be riding the Vuelta after already completing the Giro d'Italia, where he finished second. "He will ride his second Grand Tour of the year in the Vuelta. He did that last year too, but then he got sick. That experience, together with the Giro, will give him a different perspective."

A day later, it turned out that none of this was true. UAE Team Emirates-XRG told Ciclismo Internacional that Del Toro will not participate in the Vuelta a España. They did not mention Ayuso.