When João Almeida spoke up after Stage 9 of the Vuelta’2025, he wasn’t happy. He felt his teammates left him hanging during the hardest part of the race. The support he needed just didn’t show up. It turns out, Juan Ayuso, a fellow rider for UAE Emirates, was the one who held back. Ayuso made a personal choice. He decided not to push hard on the final climb. Why? He wasn’t in the running for the overall victory anymore. This came directly from Ayuso himself. He crossed the finish line far back. He was 157th, almost 22 minutes behind the winner, Vingegaard.
Ayuso didn’t pull any punches when he explained his actions. He said his body had just given out. “I was quite tired,” he admitted shortly after finishing. “My legs hurt too much from the other day.” He simply couldn’t offer much help to the team. His personal race for the general classification was effectively over. “I’m not in contention for the general classification,” he stated clearly. “There’s no point in forcing it just to force it.”
When asked if he could have still supported Almeida, even for a short time, Ayuso’s answer was blunt. He felt it would have been a wasted effort. “I wouldn’t have been there,” he replied, shaking his head. “Forcing myself to hold on for 5 more minutes makes no sense.” For him, the battle was already lost. Pushing himself further would have achieved nothing.