Tour of Spain
Warning danger: Roglic and the others must already react
3 HOURS AGO
The coup de force of the Quick-Step, the vain resistance of Molard: the summary of the 6th stage
Terrors among young people
How not to have them when at the top, Ayuso finished 42 seconds ahead of the group of Roglic, Hindley, Yates, Almeida or even… Rodriguez? The latter, Spanish champion’s jersey on his back, clung to the coattails of Pavel Sivakov and Tao Geoghegan Hart with whom he still shares the leadership of the powerful INEOS, which Richard Carapaz can no longer hope for, whose CV yet displays a success and three other podiums in grand tours.
But where do the two nuggets come from? From a distance and as there is never a coincidence at the top level, their respective signings at UAE and INEOS are the result of rare junior careers where the two, separated by a year and a half, crushed the Spanish competitions. Take for example Ayuso’s 2020 season and its successes at the Circuit de Guadiana, at the Memorial Joan Bautista Llorens, on three stages of the Tour du Besaya or even on the time trial and the road race of the Spanish championship in the category. Without the Covid and the end, or almost, of the junior races, the Catalan could have been familiar with the exceptional.
And Rodríguez? So older, he had shone in 2019, winning the Tour de Gironde and the Gipuzkoa Klasika and dominating Ayuso this time on the national chrono. Both could currently compete in the Tour de l’Avenir, like Remco Evenepoel, but their talent made them skip the U23 category even if Ayuso had taken a break in his first professional season to crush the Giro U23, clinching the yellow, green, polka dot and white jerseys, in a kind of “merckxian” performance on a lower scale.
When Ayuso matches Pogacar in the mountains…
Rather climber, even if Juan Ayuso assures that he does not yet know if he might not be more of a puncher, the duo had Alberto Contador as their idol. It is also within the Kometa foundation, set up by the former double winner of the Tour de France, that Rodriguez learned his skills in 2018 and 2019 before INEOS overtook Movistar in the hunt for the nugget. In difficulty, the team would have liked to be able to attract one or the other but financially, impossible to fight with the big cars of the World Tour…
He caught the eye of Pogacar: Ayuso, the new jewel of UAE Emirates
Within these armadas, Ayuso and Rodriguez have something to learn. The first had also surprised a certain Tadej Pogacar during an altitude training course in early 2021 by clinging to his wheel to the top of a test ascent. “We had to go all the way to the top, I felt good and that’s it…smiled humbly the Spaniard. Learning and being in contact with the best runner of the moment was incredible. It helps me become a better runner.”
Spanish cycling wants to open a new chapter
Same theme with Carlos Rodriguez who confided in the Team last March a few days before his success on a stage of the Tour of the Basque country: “At Ineos, I knew that I was going to be in good hands and that no one was going to put pressure on myself. My first ambition has always been to learn the job of a cyclist.” He learns it rather well, even considering himself “ahead” of his schedule. An observation obviously also possible on the side of Ayuso.
The Evenepoel putsch, the fright of Hamilton, the courage of Rodriguez: summary of the 5th stage
“I know that in Spain a lot is already expected of me, and the same with Juan AyusoRodriguez still confided to L’Equipe. This is mainly because Spanish cycling has recently experienced the end of a cycle with the withdrawals of “Purito” Rodriguez, Contador and soon Valverde. People would like to see other runners who perform as well.” The mountainous weekend in Asturias could allow the two to be “efficient”, to surprise and why not even burst the screen.
Tour of Spain
The profile of the 10th stage: A stopwatch the day after the rest day
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Tour of Spain
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