Knetemann and others slam "arrogant brat" Ayuso: "He could do so much more for Almeida"

When Vingegaard accelerated towards Valdezcaray, Almeida was not there. Many said it was because of positioning. “I thought it was nonsense to suggest that Almeida wasn't there, but he was,” counters Roxane Ketemann. Marijn Abbenhuijs adds, “He's just not a rider who can react immediately. That has little to do with positioning, but more with his profile: he'll catch up eventually.”

That didn't work this time because Vingegaard was too strong, even on the less complicated sections. “Those last kilometers, which are much less steep, where you really benefit from a duo like Almeida and Pidcock, Vingegaard just stays ahead. They don't get any closer. I actually think that's more impressive than what he showed at the beginning of the climb,” Knetemann evaluated.

For a moment, it looked as if Giulio Ciccone would keep up, but the Italian from Lidl-Trek exploded spectacularly on the Dane's wheel. “That's a rider close to my heart. We'll see where it takes us. I'm just going to do this.” He's got guts. But he really blew himself up. Like a Fiat that suddenly went ‘poof’. But he did recover. A Fiat with a lot of smoke, but one that recovered."

What Almeida lacked was a good domestique, while UAE seems to have them in abundance. But Juan Ayuso dropped out before the climb. "This is just super uncollegial," says Abbenhuijs. "I liked that he put his fingers in his ears on Friday, but then I was referring to the fact that there are riders who occasionally don't give a shit and let themselves be provoked. But when you consider what he's doing today... He could do so much more for Almeida. He could have closed the gap with Vingegaard a little more.“

Whereas Tadej Pogacar was surrounded by a solid team in the Tour de France, the UAE team is a mess in Spain, just like it was in the Giro. “When Pogacar isn't there, it's chaos. They're doing little to change that image in this Vuelta, on the contrary.” Knetemann sees it the same way. “Of course, it's such a stellar team, and there's so much quality in that team. All that quality can accept that Pogacar is better. But when they're up against each other, they apparently find that quite difficult.”

The Dutchman thinks the team is about to explode. “And at some point, you have to get back on the bus, right? I think Almeida is the type who doesn't say anything, but I think Ayuso is a bit the same. He's a bit of an arrogant brat. We need that in cycling, but they both have their headphones on, and the team management goes along with it. They think: they'll manage on their own.”