Ayuso didn’t take coffee breaks in his Giro preparation and mission to beat Roglic: "I won’t settle for second"

Ayuso told IDLProCycling.com in December and January that he had taken a big step forward thanks to an entirely new approach. He proved this with victories in the Faun Drome Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia before hitting the mark in the Tirreno-Adriatico with a stage win and overall victory. He also looked set to win the Tour of Catalonia, but Primoz Roglic knocked him out of the leader's jersey on the final day. This was something Ayuso had already feared beforehand.

But what are his rest days like? Don't expect anything too exciting. "On rest days, I try to sleep a lot. I always get a massage. And if I don't have a massage or can't sleep, I watch a movie, and then I go back to sleep and repeat that, haha."

This monotonous routine and ultimate peace and quiet are essential to the climber as he works towards his big goals, which he really enjoys. “Nothing beats racing, that goes without saying. But every year, I enjoy getting there more and more – getting in shape. I enjoyed my training camp in the Sierra Nevada. You can see how your physical condition changes in three weeks. Of course, it also helped that everything went well during that period.”

His stats in TrainingPeaks also showed tremendous growth, although that is not visible to the public. “I don't normally make my data public. I've considered sharing my race performances, but I'm just too lazy, haha. Besides, I don't think social media is important at all, so I don't bother with it,” says Ayuso, who is very focused on the Giro. ”I don't usually stop for coffee either – I don't think it's good for training.”

It should all lead to an explosion in the Giro d'Italia. “All eyes are on me and Roglic because we've achieved the best results. There will be a lot of competitors, but Primoz is, of course, the most important one, the man to beat. I think he's the big favorite because he's already won the Giro and knows what needs to be done. However, I'm going there to win and won't settle for just a place on the podium. I want to win, although I won't necessarily consider the race a failure if I don't.”

Ayuso thinks that with two time trials, two weeks full of potential pitfalls, and a tough third week, he has a perfect course. “There aren't any challenging stages in the first two weeks, so we'll have to wait for the third week. I hope to gain ground on my opponents in the time trials, and the stage to Siena (on Strade Bianche roads on day 9, ed.) will be beautiful but perhaps not decisive for the GC. Anything can happen, but in the third week, every day will be decisive.”