Spain has been looking for the successor of Alberto Accountant for a decade. Pinto’s has been the last Spanish cyclist capable of winning one of the three great races in the stages of the calendar, the 2015 turn. It is precisely in Italy where the hopes of a hobby that sees how Juan Ayuso has gone from promise to reality In the first months of this season.
He has done so winning the prestigious Tyrrhenian-Adriatic and facing you to Primoz Roglic in a Volta to Catalonia in which he finished second. A blow to the table after finishing 2024 wrapped in An important controversy within the UAE team which had as its first consequence its non -participation in the Tour of Spain. Ayuso wants to be the protagonist and that is difficult in a team led by the Almighty Tadej Pogacar and in which he shares jersey with athletes such as Joao Almeida or Adam Yates.
That tough competition within their squad becomes a Unique opportunity for Spanish The Tour of Italy. It arrives at a time excellently and is known leader of a group of very high level cyclists who should wrap him in the important moments of the race. It needs to be up to the aspirations of an Almeida who also wants gallons and has recently won the return to the Basque Country.
Duel for Maglia Rosa
As usual, the great departure of the turn will be made in neighboring Albania. There all eyes will be put on two men: Juan Ayuso and Primoz Roglic. They are the top favorites to take the trophy Endless Three weeks later in Rome. However, they are not the only candidates because up to six cyclists who know what it is to win a great return, including Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz or Jai Hindley, will be found in the platoon, all of them with a pink jersey In his record.
The pulse between Ayuso and Roglic is also generational. The Slovenian has already turned 35 and pedals at Red Bull-Bora in search of a last great triumph. For its part, Catalan only has 22 and has a season ahead to consolidate in the elite of international cycling. Both have already measured forces this year in the volta and 28 seconds separated from each other After seven stages.
During that week of competition, equality between the two could be verified and the great veteran’s asset for the turn: Roglic continues to prove to be a great finisher And the same power that has served to conquer many victories throughout his career continues to use his rivals in the final meters of any stage. If Ayuso wants to impose he cannot leave everything for the last kilometer.
The key endings
The turn has managed to maintain part of its essence in these years in which three -week races have chosen to reduce the mileage of the stages. The Italian round maintains in 2025 until seven days above 190 kilometers travel. Three of them are high mountain and their roads are called to be trial judges.
These days of great slope will be key to measuring the strength of Ayuso and Roglic, but also of their two teams, both of great level and with gregarious of authentic luxury. In principle, the mountain will decide in a competition in which The time trial will be belittled again with only two stages that barely add up to 42 kilometers of individual effort. Few to make great differences except capital surprise.
However, the real danger to Spanish is in a series of finals reminiscent of the style of the return to Spain. The turn has programmed several stages that end in the “walls”, that is, brief slopes, with important slope and at whose top the goal is located. As we have already said, A land in which Roglic dominates and in which you can make important differences for the general.
As if that were not enough, in an attempt to modernize the competition and bet on speed, the turn opens in 2025 The “Red Bull kilometer”. This evolution of the classics Sprint intermediate will distribute 6, 4 and 2 seconds of bonus in the general in 19 of the 21 stages of the test. At a time when winners decide for a handful of seconds, who knows if we will not see any of the leaders fight for this little booty.
The stage is prepared, the contestants sharpen the knives and among them Juan Ayuso lands in Italy with the intention of conquering it. In three weeks we will know if the Spanish drought comes to an end or if we will have to wait for him or another to take Alberto Contador’s witness and win in one of the three great cycling.
