Juan Ayuso is closing out his time at UAE Team Emirates-XRG with a bang, reminding whomever his next employer is to be know of his strengths, ruthlessness, but also ability to follow orders, as he was told by the car to play out the final tactically and did just that to win stage 12 of the Vuelta a España.
Having likened his soon-to-be former team, UAE, to a 'dictatorship' just days ago, Ayuso ensured his divorce from the team, though already messy, isn't going to be one that ends only on a sour note, but with victories coming with it before he departs at the season's conclusion.
He was at his very best in the breakaway on stage 12, and was led out into a searing attack by Marc Soler, but to defeat Movistar's Javier Romo, who bridged across to his wheel, pulled less in the final run to the line after they'd got away up the final climb, and let him lead out the sprint before charging past him to the line.
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"At five kilometres to the finish, I sat up a bit and Javi was getting nervous because he was looking at his first stage in the Vuelta a España," said Ayuso post-stage, confirming it was a call from the car to hold back from pulling.
"After such a hard day, you don't know, and I had to play my cards. I was also a bit nervous, playing the final kilometres, saying that 'I've already won a stage' and telling Romo he had to pull more if he wanted to arrive.
"I was told from the car to play like this. This is not something that I really enjoy – to play a bit and not cooperate fully, but sometimes you have to play smart, and that's what I did in the final."
Romo was left banging his bars at the finish, knowing fully that he'd played up the pressure of a maiden victory at his home Grand Tour looming, allowing Ayuso to power away from him as they reached a two-up sprint that was only ever going one way, given the imbalance in work done.
"I'm sorry I hit the bar like that at the finish, but I was annoyed," said the Movistar rider to Spanish media at the finish. "Juan wasn't just the strongest, he was the most intelligent, he almost didn't want to work in the end."
With all the noise surrounding his announced departure from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and early termination of his planned 2028 contract, Ayuso said he allowed his shape to do the heavy lifting when it came to any response, but that his performance was by no means him trying to send a 'message' to anyone.
"Regarding the rest of the events, I like talking with my legs and I showed that today," said the Spanish rider, but did it bring any feeling of vindication after the past days' events?
"I don't know, I had to face unpleasant things in these last few days and talking on the bike with my legs always the best answer," Ayuso reiterated. "It wasn't a message, but to be able to do it was important."
Aside from having the legs and his team's support on his side, Ayuso had knowledge of the area, having cut his teeth as a junior racer and finished strongly at the Vuelta a Besaya junior race back in 2019. The region, Cantabria, is also home to UAE's Sports Manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez, and where his family – who were waiting for him at the finish – had been on holiday before.
"The sprint, I think I did it quite well. I know this road a lot because it's where the finish is in the juniors as well, so I knew how to time my sprint and it went perfectly," said Ayuso, who confirmed it was a stage he'd been eyeing up even before the Vuelta's start. "This was a stage I had in mind. I told my mother she couldn't miss it, and she turned up at the race.
"I knew it from doing it twice in the Vuelta a Besaya amateur race, and to win here is very nice. I won here as a youngster, and I was here for two summers, so it's nice to win here. I'm not from here, but my family has been up here on holiday."
While today's stage was all about Ayuso, he knows that the remainder of the Vuelta, and more importantly, tomorrow's stage up the iconic Alto de l'Angliru, will be about helping his teammate João Almeida in the fight against Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike, with the Portuguese rider sat 50 seconds down overall with nine stages left to race.
"It'll be an early break, being so long, but definitely a day for the overall. The key thing for João is to be there on the Cordal because the descent will be super important, and then be there for the Angliru, which is terrible," said Ayuso, who tabled any more goals of his own for now, with Almeida's GC being his priority.
"First, some GC days, and I will be with João. Then, in the last week, I'll try and maybe get in some more breaks. It's maybe a good third week to build for the World Championships," his next key objective, "because I won't do anything in the time trial or the sprints. I'll maybe pick and choose a day, but the main priority will be the overall with João.
"It's been a great Vuelta for us with five stage wins, and why can't we win the Vuelta too? We'll have to be up there tomorrow, it's where the real battle for the Vuelta starts."
Ayuso could prove his weight in gold if, and only if, he is able to really help Almeida tomorrow. With all the drama of the first two weeks, the Spanish rider could close out his time at UAE by being the top domestique of the race, as he tried to do on stage 10, but that climb to Larra Belagua wasn't hard enough to make the difference on Vingegaard – tomorrow to Angliru certainly will be.
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