According to a team press release, the contract runs until 2030 and the 23-year-old Spaniard is regarded as one of the biggest stage race talents in the peloton. "His signing strengthens Lidl-Trek's ambitions in stage races and is an important step towards the long-term goal of becoming the best team in the WorldTour," reads a press release from the racing team. In future, he will ride alongside the Danish former world champion Mads Pedersen, the Italian top sprinter Jonathan Milan, his strong climber Giulio Ciccone and the German pros Lennard Kämna, Tim Torn Teutenberg and Max Walscheid.
Contract with UAE Team Emirates cancelled
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Ayuso was originally tied to the UAE Team Emirates-XRG team for the long term. It was only during the last Tour of Spain that Ayuso's previous employer announced that the collaboration, which had been agreed until 2028, would be terminated prematurely. The decision had been made "due to different ideas". Prior to this, the internal team disputes escalated. At the time, the cyclist was unhappy with both the timing and the content of the team's publication. It had previously become apparent that the up-and-coming professional cyclist was unfamiliar with his role there. The team with the biggest budget currently has a large number of outstanding tour specialists under contract, which means that many riders have to put their personal ambitions on hold. The most important races are occupied by four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar as the undisputed leader. In addition, there are riders such as the Portuguese Joao Almeida (most recently winner of the Tour de Suisse and runner-up in the Vuelta) and the 21-year-old Mexican Isaac del Toro, who only just missed out on overall victory in the Giro d'Italia in May when he finished second. There were reports that the previous team was no longer relying on Ayuso for joint missions with team captain Tadej Pogacar after the 2024 Tour de France collaboration had visibly not worked out.
Spain's leader at the World Cup
At the age of 19, Ayuso finished third overall at the end of his first three-week stage race, the Tour of Spain 2022, but was unable to improve on this result in subsequent years. Last spring, he won the Tour of Tirreno-Adriatico and went into the Giro d'Italia as captain. After a crash, he lost time and his young team-mate Isaac del Toro slipped into pink. Ayuso later abandoned the Tour of Italy after a bee sting. At the last Vuelta, Ayuso won two stages out of breakaway groups, but was rarely seen in action for team-mate Joao Almeida, who was in contention for overall victory for a long time and ultimately finished second behind the Dane Jonas Vingegaard. At the current Road World Championships in Rwanda, Ayuso is expected to lead the Spanish national team in the road race next Sunday and is considered one of the medal contenders.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
