Juan Ayuso only wants the rainbow, does he have options against Pogacar and Evenepoel?

The cyclist from Alicante showed confidence in his abilities at the press conference held by the Spanish cycling team in the town of Navacerrada, Madrid, where the team had a small training camp before heading to Rwanda.

Juan Ayuso is going all out at the 2025 Kigali World Championships

During the past week, the Spanish national men's cycling team, except for Raúl García Pierna and Ivan Romeo who are already in Rwanda after competing in the time trial, led by Alejandro Valverde, concentrated in the Sierra de Guadarrama to finalize their preparation for the 2025 Kigali World Championships, which will take place on Sunday, September 28th.

This training camp focused more on team building rather than just training, similar to the approach taken before the 2018 Innsbruck World Championships, which resulted in a great victory for the current national team coach.

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Before heading to Rwanda, the leader of the team for the 2025 Kigali World Championships, Juan Ayuso, held a press conference where he made his intentions clear for Sunday “I'm not aiming for the silver medal” stated the cyclist from Alicante.

“I come to this World Championships with more conviction and enthusiasm than last year. In 2024, it was tough for me after the Tour. I believe that racing La Vuelta has been good preparation for the World Championships” explained Ayuso.

Regarding how he expects the race to unfold, Juan Ayuso is aware that Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel are the favorites, however, he believes that taking advantage of the rivalry between them could be key to his chances of victory. Nevertheless, he does not anticipate the race breaking apart before the ascent to Mount Kigali, located 100 kilometers from the finish line and expected to be a turning point in the race. Being well-positioned at this point will be crucial. Additionally, the goal before that point will be to try to have a rider ahead to gain a tactical advantage against any moves during the climb.

Ayuso also talked about his preparation for the race “the preparation I have done is also good and now I feel in good shape. Last week, I trained at home in Andorra, at a similar altitude to the World Championships, and now we are training in Navacerrada at over 1,500 meters, so I believe we will be well adapted”.

However, the concern, as conveyed by the cyclists already in Rwanda, is the pollution in the Rwandan capital, which combined with the altitude makes breathing difficult.

Ayuso also highlighted the good atmosphere within the team during these training days, where even Alejandro Valverde, despite being retired from professional cycling, maintains an impressive form and joined them for training sessions.