Juan Ayuso has made it clear that he's in no mood to hang around in his first-ever race with Lidl-Trek at the Volta ao Algarve and will be aiming to go for the win this week in Portugal.
Rather than fly under the radar, the former winner of early season events like Faun-Ardèche Classic in 2024 and Faun Drôme Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia in 2025 told AS that he is keen to hit the ground running once again in 2026
Like the other top contenders, Ayuso will likely try to stay out of trouble on Wednesday's opening rolling 184km stage from Vila Real de San Antonio to Tavira. That said, it'll be interesting to see if the 23-year-old makes a move in any of the hot spot sprints with bonus seconds on offer in the new Algarve feature, the 'golden kilometre' in the final hour of racing.
Most importantly, though, Ayuso is looking to make a real impact in his debut in the Volta ao Algarve, the first in a series of stage races this spring including Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country, the latter a race he won back in 2024 – followed by the Ardennes Classics.
"We've trained well and the objective is always to win, we're going to fight for that," Ayuso told AS on the eve of the race. "I'm in good shape and I think we'll be in the mix.
"It's my first race with the team and there will be ways of working and so on that I'll have to get used to. So we'll see how it goes, but yes, the objective is to win."
After a smooth off-season and with his tumultuous parting of the ways from UAE behind him – "I've nothing more to say about that," was all he would say – Ayuso has been training at altitude in Teide, and the various performance tests went well. He has improved, he said, in terms of condition, but only actual racing would show how much.
Rather than hitting peak form at any particular point, he says: "In each race you're at, you've got to be good. If not, better not show up.
"It's difficult to get a good result at 90 per cent. I think my calendar is really good to ensure I'll be competitive in every race I take part in."
Ayuso is on the point of getting 2026 and even if the Tour de France is on the far side of the first half of the season, it can't be ignored, but even as ambitious a racer as Ayuso is wary of biting off more than he can chew too soon. Rather, he told AS, his idea is build towards success there during his lengthy contract with Lidl-Trek, which runs to 2030.
"It's a long-term project and I will still be 28, hopefully in the best moment of my career and with a lot ahead of me," he said, but if it was "difficult to say" what he hoped to achieve by then, he recognised that "the Tour is the dream."
"As I continue to grow, so will the team and we've both agreed this is a long-term goal. It won't be all or nothing this year or next. We've got a lot of time left.
"Thinking about winning this year isn't impossible, but even if in cycling anything can happen, we have to keep our feet on the ground.
"As for going for the podium – that is an ambitious goal, but it's realistic."
