Juan Ayuso has made no secret of his high ambitions in this year's Tour de France, saying he will be fighting for a podium placing in Paris in the GC with his new 2026 team, Lidl-Trek.
The 23-year-old returns to the Tour after missing it in 2025. Last year he focused first on the Giro d'Italia, where he abandoned ill and injured after winning the opening mountain stage, and then went on to race the Vuelta a España, where Ayuso took two stage victories as well as supporting his then-teammate at UAE Joåo Almeida to second overall.
Fast forward another ten months and Ayuso is now ready to do battle for his own GC options, with his goal to become Spain's first top three overall finisher since Alejandro Valverde finished third behind Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana back in 2015.
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"The goal is obviously to be on one step on the podium of Paris," Ayuso said in a team statement. "It's still going to be three weeks of hard work, and we will see what we can achieve.
"Everything can change in the Tour on any day. It's important to just not lose time and save energy in the first stages.
"We have some hard days in the first week but it shouldn't be too crazy until the weekend of the second week. There and throughout the last week the GC will be decided."
To date Ayuso's track record in the Tour de France has been lowkey, with his one appearance in 2024 ending in an abandon due to COVID-19 in the second week.
However, in terms of recent form, a third place overall in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes bodes well for his return. Furthemore, the Spaniard's track record in the Vuelta a España, where back in 2022 a third place overall converted the then-19-year-old into the race's youngest ever podium finisher, also shows he has the engine for three-week races.
Whilst Mattias Skjelmose will be Lidl-Trek's second GC option this July, Danish fans will also be watching to see how his compatriot and teammate Mads Pedersen fares in his first Tour de France since 2024, which ended badly when Pedersen crashed and later abandoned with an injured shoulder at the end of the first week.
Twice a Tour stage winner, once from a break in 2023 and once from a bunch sprint, the versatile Pedersen will be looking to add at least a third, as well as having a crack at adding the Tour's green jersey to his two Vuelta a España titles. The Tour is also, in a sense, part of his comeback trail after a rollercoaster spring following a fractured wrist injury in a race in early February.
"The feeling is pretty good, especially now after the Nationals. It was nice to pin the numbers again and be back racing. It's been a long time, so it's always nice to see to see how it feels when other guys are in the peloton and pushing the limits as well," Pedersen said.
"The main goal for the Tour is is winning a stage, and then we're trying to aim for the for the green jersey as well, even though [the] new points system is not in our favor.
"But nothing is impossible, and we have seen other riders do it before where we didn't expect it so we believe we can do it."
"Mads will go for green and almost doesn’t need an introduction," added sports director Steven de Jongh in the same statement whilst confirming Skjelmose's and Ayuso's overall goals.
"Mads is so strong and competitive in the sprints and even on days when sprinters will normally get dropped, he can survive. He is crazy good at going in the breakaway, so is [Mathias] Vacek who can join him there.
"Same for Quinn [Simmons, US Champion], he is also in good shape and just won the Nationals so he can give support when he needs, like riding in the valleys, and go in the break if there is a chance."
De Jongh also pointed out that Lidl-Trek could well have options in the opening TTT, with fourth in the recent test in that speciality in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes - where both Ayuso and Skjelmose were racing - a promising result.
"We’ve had great preparation for the TTT and have high expectations of being competitive," De Jongh said.
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