Juan Ayuso is leaving UAE Emirates at the season’s end. This news has created a stir in the cycling world. But Ayuso recently spoke out, revealing there’s much more to his departure than a simple transfer. He offered sharp criticism of how the team’s management handled his situation.
The issues weren’t just about his leaving or the failed contract talks earlier this year. Ayuso pointed to a deep lack of harmony within the squad. He felt this made him seem like a “villain” in a winning team that features star rider Tadej Pogacar.
“It was little incidents,” Ayuso explained in an interview with journalist Daniel Benson. “We always knew something felt off. After each race, when I got home, I felt no real connection.” He called these “small things every time.” When he brought these concerns to management, their response was always negative. “Eventually, it all adds up,” he stated. “You reach a point where you think, ‘screw this, I’m here to enjoy myself’.”
Ayuso confessed that sometimes he felt he had to “fight against my teammates.” This never felt right, he noted. He saw things pile up when he focused on internal team issues. This was especially true when teammates seemed to want to beat him. He described it as a “gradual thing,” not something that happened all at once.
Many cycling fans, especially in Portugal, viewed Ayuso as an internal rival to João Almeida. There were some controversial moments between the two. However, Ayuso now strongly denies any personal problems with Almeida. He summarizes the situation as entirely about internal management.
“The problem wasn’t with Almeida,” Ayuso clarified. “I would never challenge a teammate.” He believes such things happen in all teams; it’s part of sports. “But from a management perspective, the message was never clear,” he said. “They never defined each rider’s role. If mistakes happened, nobody ever discussed them.” He feels this lack of clarity cost him energy. “It was more about how the team management handled things,” he insisted. “Honestly, there weren’t big problems with my teammates. The issue was solely with the team’s leadership.”
Ayuso’s criticisms also touch on the contract renewal talks from earlier in the year. “In January,” he recalled, “I got an offer to renew my contract for two more years, until 2030.” During those negotiations, his main concern wasn’t money. Instead, it was “the famous 100 million euro clause.”
He told the team he would renew, but only if the contract included a clause allowing him to leave. He didn’t agree to the terms offered. From that moment, he said, team management became “very aggressive” with him. They even hinted that if he didn’t sign, they would “have to see” what his future race calendar would look like. This was a major turning point, alongside the already complex sporting challenges. “That’s when I decided, ‘enough is enough’,” he recalled.
Ayuso understands why people might have certain opinions. “I’m not saying it’s unfair for people to think what they think,” he admitted. “Everyone has a right to their opinion.” He simply feels the public image of him is “very different from who I really am.”
“What bothers me most,” he concluded, “is that the team tried to create even more blood instead of helping.” He felt they wanted to “look good in the end.” He was painted as “the villain in the movie.” Because of this, he can’t criticize fans who formed opinions based on the version they received. “I have no problem with that,” he stated plainly.
