J.uan Ayuso lived the last day of rest of the Tour de France between watts, family, conversations and disconnection. A relative pause before the race faces its final fireworks and decides a podium of Paris which is still open. The Spanish, sixth in the general classification already 1:30 of Isaac del Torodoes not consider any objective closed.
“We are going with everything,” Ayuso assured BRANDbefore taking the elevator to the room, when mentioning the third week after completing the planned training around Annecy. This Mondaythe Spanish star preferred to take refuge with his team to recharge his batteries for what is to come. In the morning he trained two hours approximately combining road and road bikes chronowhich will use this Tuesday on another key day.
It was not a training any. The day against the clock appears as the first great test of the last week and as an opportunity for Ayuso regain ground against several of its direct rivals. The route, with ascent, technical descent and a demanding final section, fits well with the characteristics of the Spanish cyclist.
After training, Ayuso He changed the numbers, the watts and the strategies for a few hours due to the heat of his family. He ate with his parents and sister, rested in the room and tried to talk as little as possible about cycling. I needed to clear my head after a difficult day at Plateau de Solaisonwhere he lost time in the last two kilometers and walked away from podium which had been much closer just two days before.
The intention was simple: normalize the bad day, recover energy and prevent a stage from affecting everything that still remains to be disputed. Later, again in Tour mode, Ayuso He had several conversations with those responsible for the team. Among them was Josu Larrazabalwho returned to the race to accompany the Spaniard in the decisive stretch.
“What happened in Plateau de Solaison We didn’t see it coming. There is no apparent reason, but we enter the last week confidently, starting with the time trial”he explained Larrazabal.
The person responsible for performance Lidl-Trek considers that the great challenge now is to prevent Ayuso get stuck trying to find a mathematical explanation for everything that happened. “This generation has become accustomed to taking everything to a maximum level of control, based on numbers almost perfect in which two plus two always equals four. We try to explain to them that in the sport “Two plus two sometimes equals three and other times equals five,” he said.
This permanent search for answers, according to Larrazabalcan generate frustration when sensations do not match data. “They are perfectionists and dependent on number. “They want to understand what happened, but there is not always a number that describes the sensations, nutrition, hydration, heat or fatigue management,” adds one of the German team leaders to this medium, who is very happy with how Juan has adapted to the team.
Therefore, the message during the day of rest was to return attention to what is truly controllable. “With Juan We try to give him normality and keep him focused on what he has to concentrate on: the chrono“How are we going to get out, at what pace and how to execute the plan well,” he added. Joshua.
The time trial It could be a turning point. Ayuso He is an aerodynamic runner, solid uphill and skilled on the descent. He does not start as the main favorite against specialists of the caliber of Remco Evenepoel or to himself Tadej Pogacarbut within the group of candidates for the general classification, their performance can make a difference.
“Juan is a specialist in time trialeven if he is not a pure specialist. “He defends himself very well,” he highlighted. Yeyo Corralone of the key figures in the technical and strategic preparation of the exercise. “The final part is going to go very well for him due to his aerodynamic profile, on the way up he will defend himself well and he will also go down very well. I hope he can do better than the rest of the climbers.”
Corral does not expect the general is definitively resolved, but it does consider that the journey will allow new differences to be established. “It is a chrono important. In the first part, which is the climb, some difference can be made, although I do not expect it to be decisive for the overall Tour. After a day of rest the body recovers, changes, and in an effort of about 34 or 35 minutes beautiful things can come out.”
The route forces you to find a balance between weight and aerodynamics. The team has been preparing for the day for months, studying the developments, the wheels, the pressures and the distribution of effort. Ayuso and his companions already recognized the route before the Tourwhile the technicians have finished adjusting the plan based on the wind and weather forecasts.
“For a climber like Juanwith a good aerodynamic profile, is a chrono which is going very well. “Let’s see if he has a good day, which is what we all hope for, and we can get a good result to continue in the fight,” he stated. Corral.
In it Lidl-Trek They prefer not to talk about a specific position. The objective is not to transfer additional pressure to the corridorbut to complete the best possible effort and then check how far the times allow you to go. “We know what records the favorites can make and where our runners can be. It is not necessary to put more pressure on them with everything that lies ahead. A very tough week is coming, with a lot of mountainand anything can happen,” he recalled. Yeyo.
Aritz Arberascoach Ayusoshares the optimism before the final block. “We faced the last week with a lot of motivation. We have been talking about this week for months and I see Juan very well both physically and emotionally. There are still options to get among the top positions and we are all going to go and fight for it. “He has a lot of determination to achieve it,” he explained to BRAND.
The scenario has changed after Plateau de Solaison. The initial plan was to reach the time trial a few seconds from the podium and leave it with a strengthened candidacy against runners like Del Toro. Now, as he admits Larrazabalthe first objective is to consolidate in the fight for top five and wait for the opportunities that the final mountain will offer.
Looking to the future
“We know that we will get out of the chrono as a candidate for top five. We accept it and we will see what the final block gives us in Alpe d’Huez. In a project to win a grand tour there are intermediate steps that are part of the learning. Surely the moments in which things are not going perfect are the ones that give you the most,” he said. Joshua.
Lidl-Trek ended the day along with a dinner outdoors, with pizzas and a relaxed atmosphere. One last moment of calm before returning to the competitive tension. The body rested, the head tried to turn the page and the bikes time trial They were prepared.
The last week it’s already here. Ayuso continue sixtha minute and a half from podiumwith a chrono favorable and all mountain past. He’s not where he expected to be, but he’s not out of the fight either. And his message before the final fireworks leaves no room for doubt: “Let’s go with everything.”
