Juan Ayuso impresses but is mainly angry and disappointed: “Why? Because I was stupid”

Juan Ayuso made his mark on Saturday in the seventh stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The 23-year-old Spaniard from Lidl-Trek finished second on the brutally steep Grand Colombier and moved up four places to fourth overall. Yet afterward, he was mainly angry and disappointed with himself.

Ayuso has had a turbulent 2026 so far, after making the move from UAE Emirates-XRG to Lidl-Trek last winter. He started strongly, immediately taking both a stage win and the overall victory at the Tour of the Algarve, but then crashed out of Paris-Nice.

After a month of recovery and training, Ayuso returned to racing at the Tour of the Basque Country. This time, however, stomach issues forced him to abandon before the major mountain tests. As a result, he arrived at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with only thirteen race days in his legs.

“Friday was my first effort since the Algarve in February, in competition,” Ayuso said on Saturday before the start of Stage 7, referring to the sixth stage, which also finished uphill. “The preparation for the Tour de France has not been easy, but I’m staying positive.”

That positivity was not misplaced, because in stage 7 Ayuso already dared to attack with 7 kilometers to go to the summit of the Grand Colombier. Only Isaac del Toro managed to come past him in the finale. Ayuso finished second, 24 seconds down, and now sits fourth in the general classification, 1:06 behind the leader.

“I always hope for more, but at the start of this week I mostly hoped to keep growing throughout the race,” Ayuso said before the stage. “I hope to fight for the win, and I hope I can show myself better on the longer climbs. On Friday I lacked a bit of acceleration, that first three- to four-minute effort.”

On the Grand Colombier, an 8.4-kilometer climb at more than 10 percent, Ayuso was much better — something he admitted afterward at the top of the mountain. “It was a hard day. After the neutralization on a descent — for which we can only praise the organization — it was full gas racing.”

Ayuso explained that Lidl-Trek controlled the finale because the team wanted to go for the stage victory. “I’m disappointed because I went from a little too far out and the wind was not right. My teammates deserved a result today.”

Why, then, did he decide to attack from so far out? “Because I was stupid,” Ayuso laughed, though it sounded more like a painful laugh than a happy one. “No, the pace was not super high and it was the hardest part. But in the end, it was decided at the finish, and I threw away a victory here.”

“I’m happy with the form, and that is why this is also difficult. I had the legs and the team was amazing.”

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]