Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) will aim to repeat his impressive performance at the Vuelta a España in 2023, with the goal to step up from a podium finish and win the Spanish Grand Tour.
Ayuso finished third in the 2022 race behind Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) and Enric Mas (Movistar) a few days before turning 20. That made him the youngest-ever podium finisher in the Vuelta and the second youngest in any Grand Tour history.
His next goal, Ayuso said in a lengthy interview with El País, is to win the Vuelta, which will be his one Grand Tour of 2023.
“I want to try in the Vuelta again,” Ayuso said. “In 2024 I will change [Grand Tours.] But next year I want to focus on the Vuelta as my biggest objective.”
“This year I finished third, why not dream of being able to win it? After finishing third, you can only think about trying to win.”
Ayuso recognised in the same interview that 2022 had been a breakthrough year, given he had never participated before in a Grand Tour and the maximum time he had raced previously was 10 days.
“From 10 days to 21 is double that number,” he pointed out. “But in the Vuelta I recovered very well and the third week was where I performed the best and where I was closest to Enric Mas and Evenepoel. That gives me a lot of confidence for next year. It’s the litmus test for Grand Tour racers.”
Well-known for his versatility as a racer, Ayuso said that his teammate and double Tour winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) had paved the way for showing it was possible for Grand Tour specialists to try for victories on all kinds of terrain. And that was what he was hoping to try to do in the years to come.
“He’s the example to follow. I know I can do well in one-day races and that’s why next year I want to go to test myself at the Ardennes.”
Ayuso’s full race program for 2023 will not emerge, however, until after he has met up with the UAE team at their first winter get-together, which starts in Dubai on October 18th.
“I’ll talk it over with the team bosses and we’ll combine my interests with the team’s to try and work out the best calendar.”
“I’ll do more WorldTour races than this year, but of a similar type. Week-long stage races, Ardennes, a break, then the Vuelta."
"I don’t know which week-long races will be among my objectives, but I’ll decide with the team. It’ll be a lot of racing until May, then I’ll rest up and start building for the Vuelta.”
Now 20, Ayuso told El País that he already “feels old. I was looking at the list of people turning pro and I could see some were born in 2003 or 2004 and I thought ‘Heck, I already am two years older than those guys - you’re some oldie.”
“Remco is two years older than me, too, but I’m just focused on myself. I’m at a point where rather than continuing to evolve, in 2023 I need to do something big for my palmares. Whoever it is I have to fight against - I’ll fight.”
