'We are ready for the challenge' - Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates lead UAE Team Emirates-XRG title defence at the Giro d'Italia

With the 2025 Giro d’Italia set to get underway in Albania on Friday, teams continue to announce their squads for the first Grand Tour of the season.

Reigning champions UAE Team Emirates-XRG will be without last year's Tadej Pogačar but have named a strong line up that includes Juan Ayuso, Adam Yates, Isaac del Toro, Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty, Rafał Majka, Igor Arrieta and Filippo Baroncini.

Pogačar will not attempt a repeat of last year’s Giro-Tour double after a long and tiring Spring Classics campaign, in which he emerged victorious at the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The World Champion has chosen to focus solely on his preparations for the Tour de France in July, where he will be aiming to defend his title for a fourth overall victory at the race.

In the Slovenian’s absence, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will employ a dual leadership strategy and ride in support of Ayuso and Yates, in the hopes of reaching the top step of the podium in Rome and retaining the maglia rosa.

"Between myself and Juan I think we should be able to have a good crack on the general classification and try to defend the title, and I'm looking forward to getting started in what I hope will be a very competitive three weeks," Yates said.

Though both have podiumed in Grand Tours in recent years, the two teammates are separated by more than a decade in age and find themselves at near-opposite ends of their careers. 

At 22 years old, Ayuso will be riding the fourth Grand Tour of his career, whilst Yates will be participating in his fifteenth major three-week race, having turned professional back in 2014. Ayuso will be making his debut appearance at the Corsa Rosa, whilst Yates only has one participation to his name, finishing ninth overall in 2017.

"I'm really excited to start my first Giro d'Italia. It's extra special because it's a new race for me and having raced for an Italian team [Team Colpack Ballan] before I turned professional and winning the Baby Giro in 2021, I feel I have a special connection with Italy," Ayuso said.

Ayuso has impressed so far in 2025, showing maturity after a complex 2024 of illness and disappointment. After beginning his season with a top-10 finish at the Faun Ardèche Classic, he won back-to-back races at the Faun Drôme Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia. He then won the queen stage and took the overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico. He then won a stage at the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished second on the general classification to Primož Roglič, who he will come up against once again at the Giro.

"It's been a great start to the year, with some special victories both for me personally and for the team. The goal is to keep that run and that spirit going for the Giro d'Italia," Ayuso said. 

"I think we have the strongest team in the race and I feel that is our biggest strength. We have strong rivals in the GC, with Roglič in particular, but we are ready for the challenge."

Yates only has one win to his name so far this season, having sealed the overall victory at the Tour of Oman in February. His only other standout result came at Milano-Torino, where he finished fourth after riding in support of his Giro teammate and eventual race winner Del Toro.

After some early-season setbacks,Yates rode as a domestique for Ayuso at Tirreno and Catalunya, which could once again become the case at the Giro if the British rider fails to stay in contention in the overall standings during the first week of the race.

Yet Yates seems determined to make the most of his opportunity to lead the team.

"The Giro is one of the biggest races on the calendar and I can't wait to get stuck-in. I've had a solid preparation period with the team at altitude and I feel ready to take on the challenge. We're coming in with big goals and personally, I'm motivated to race hard and go for a good result," the British rider said.

The team around the Anglo-Spanish duo is a combination of experienced Grand Tour riders in Majka, McNulty and Vine, supplemented with a youthful contingent of Giro d'Italia débutants in Baroncini, Del Toro and Arrieta, with the latter also making his Grand Tour debut at the race.