Following the highs and lows for Juan Ayuso on previous mountain stages at the Vuelta a España, Sunday's ninth stage was another to forget for the Spanish rider.
Ayuso, who went into the Vuelta as co-leader of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, suffered on the road to Valdezcaray, dropping early on the final climb and losing over 21 minutes at the finish.
Further up the mountain, UAE's main GC hope since Ayuso's demise, João Almeida, shed 24 seconds to main race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike). With Ayuso obviously unable to assist his teammate in the final, some raised questions about his role in the team.
Was he losing time to target future breakaway opportunities when he could instead be helping Almeida?
Ayuso said that he had nothing left to give on the summit finish, stating that he wouldn't have been up with his team leader to help, no matter how hard he tried.
"I was quite tired and couldn't help the team much. I'm not in the fight for the overall, so there's no point in pushing for the sake of pushing," he told Marca after the stage.
"I wouldn't have been there. Pushing for five more minutes makes no sense."
This came just 24 hours before UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced that Ayuso was departing the team.
Almeida now lies third overall, 1:15 off race leader Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) and 38 seconds off second-placed Vingegaard, with almost half the Vuelta done.
UAE have taken three stage victories so far in the race – the team time trial in Figueres, Jay Vine's breakaway effort in Andorra, and Ayuso's move from the break in Cerler. Almeida, meanwhile, looks a favourite for a final podium spot, even if beating Vingegaard will be a tall order.
At the same time, Ayuso may well be racing his final Grand Tour for the team. Rumours about the 22-year-old's future have hit the headlines at the Vuelta, despite him being under contract through the 2028 season.
Both La Gazzetta dello Sport and AS have suggested during the Vuelta that Ayuso is in line for a switch elsewhere for 2026, with Lidl-Trek linked to his signature.
It remains to be seen whether the Tirreno-Adriatico champion will break his contract next season, but so far, despite stage wins at both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta this year, neither Grand Tour has gone fully to plan for him.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.
