Vuelta a España: Juan Ayuso emerges from mist as Spain’s next big thing

This article originally appeared on Velo News

SAN MIGUEL DE AGUAYO, Spain (VN) -- Juan Ayuso emerged from the mist near the top of the rainy Pico Jano summit to confirm himself as the dashing new hope of Spanish cycling at the Vuelta a Espana.

With Spanish cycling languishing during the past few seasons, the 19-year-old Ayuso delivered on the hype Thursday in stage 6 to ride to fourth in the Vuelta’s first decisive mountain stage.

Only stage-hunter Jay Vine, and GC favorites Remco Evenepoel and Enric Mas could fend him off as he dropped the likes of Primoz Roglic and several other Vuelta favorites.

“It was a really hard day, especially with the rain and cold. I knew the Puerto de Brenes from when I raced as a junior, and on Pico Jano, I went at my own rhythm,” Ayuso said.

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“I was stuck a bit in no man’s land on the climb, and when I came up to the favorites, I felt good and I attacked,” he said. “With the fog, I didn’t know how much time I had or how big of a gap I had. The most important thing is that I recovered some good feelings because I wasn’t feeling great in the first few stages back in Spain.”

Spanish cycling on the rebound

Ayuso’s theatrics came a day after UAE Team Emirates teammate Marc Soler won the stage into Bilbao.

The team, whose manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez hails from Cantabria, is playing two cards with Ayuso and Joao Almeida.

Almeida finished with the main GC group, giving the team a solid base going into a pair of climbing finales in Asturias. Ayuso climbed into fifth overall at 1:12 back, with Almeida now 10th at 1:54 back.

“Almeida is the team leader,” Ayuso said. “I am going to try to stay close and hope to have the option to play two cards for the good of the team.”

Spain’s other young hope Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) also finished well. With Soler winning Wednesday, and Enric Mas (Movistar) riding into third overall at Pico Jano, Spanish cycling is suddenly on the mend.

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