Juan Ayuso put a courageous face on shedding the Volta a Catalunya race lead at virtually the final doable second to Primož Roglič on Sunday, following a spectacular remaining stage by which the Slovenian managed to launch an unstoppable late assault in Montjuic Park.
The final stage of the Volta a Catalunya with its a number of punchy laps by way of Montjuic all the time appears dramatic and is thrilling to look at however hardly ever decides the race.
“It is a glorified criterium” was how one prime sports activities director current on the race reasonably sniffily described it. Nevertheless, Ayuso’s ultra-slender benefit of only one second over Roglič earlier than stage 7 presaged a really totally different plotline to traditional. And when the Slovenian blasted off 22 kilometres from the road, his transfer proved deadly to Ayuso’s probabilities of persevering with his outstanding profitable streak of the primary a part of 2024.
Roglič was a person on a mission and his decided solo effort was greater than sufficient to maintain the extra disorganised chase at bay, all the way in which to the road. All this befell in a stage the place Ayuso had already misplaced the lead early on in a bonus dash, then regained it within the second.
However the drama heightened but additional when Roglič went clear on the hardest climb to Montjuic fortress, within the closing three laps of six. Lower than half an hour later and 22 kilometres additional on, the ultimate consequence was clearly within the Slovenian’s favour.
“It was a really powerful stage, very onerous fought, however I could not do something,” Ayuso stated afterwards. As for what went flawed, “It has been a little bit of every thing, however initially of the onerous a part of the climb on every lap, I touched wheels with one other rider and misplaced loads of positions.”
“When Bora noticed that had occurred, they instantly radioed by way of Roglic to assault. However in any case, the climb was too lengthy for me and he had higher legs than me.”
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The Tirreno-Adriatico champion then did his utmost to maintain Roglič inside attain, utilizing first teammate Marc Soler and Adam Yates to attempt to carry again the Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe chief. But it surely was to no avail and Ayuso, with just one second in his favour on GC, lastly crossed the end line in the back of a chasing group 19 seconds again. Sport over.
“I did not have the most effective legs, however the workforce helped me from the beginning,” Ayuso stated after the stage. “First we misplaced one intermediate dash, then I received the subsequent one so we have been again within the lead, and that meant Bora had no alternative however to play it offensively.
“I anticipated an assault by Roglič as a result of the circuit was fairly quick, I knew it was going to be the third final lap or the second final lap of all of them. I knew it was not going to be the final lap, as a result of that approach if he did not drop me on the primary strive, then he’d have an opportunity to strive once more.”
“When he went for it, I managed to get again on Roglič’s wheel after he attacked however by the highest of the climb he had cracked me.”
Ayuso continues to be solely 22 so is on a really steep studying curve, and he stated he had taken away one key lesson from his defeat. “It is by no means to let every other rider get between me and Roglič’s again wheel,” he defined after following the Slovenian up the climb in third place behind Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).
“I ought to have been proper behind. 20 metres from the highest of the climb, Egan swung over, and if I hadn’t been lacking these two metres on Roglič, possibly I might have been capable of keep on his wheel.”
“However as I say, he was too sturdy at this time for me so – chapeau to him.”
“Roglic was merely higher,” Ayuso’s workforce supervisor Joxean Fernández Matxín instructed Catalan TV. “There’s nothing extra so as to add than that, he deserves the victory. We all the time exit to win however this time we misplaced, and we simply have to make use of this defeat to be taught higher for the longer term.”
“Saturday was a really unusual stage, and that affected issues too,” added Ayuso, referring to the semi-neutralisation on stage 6, which noticed the Volta miss out on all its important climbs of what ought to have been its hardest day within the mountains.
“I believe that had a knock-on impact, at this time’s stage would have been very totally different if we would come to it feeling extra drained, however everyone was in the identical state of affairs, not simply me.”
Ayuso has labelled Roglič because the favorite for the Giro d’Italia, the place the 2 will cross swords once more, in addition to going through a lot of their rivals from Catalunya. Nevertheless, the Spaniard was adamant that his close to miss within the Volta didn’t change his method to the Italian Grand Tour, the place he’ll share the management at UAE Workforce Emirates with Adam Yates.
“I am leaving right here feeling calm, and I do know the place I made a mistake at this time, too” he concluded, “However I am not saying what it was.”
