João Almeida is left as UAE’s lone GC contender after Juan Ayuso cracks on the final climb of stage 6.
Cor Vos
The two-pronged strategy of UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the 2025 Vuelta a España was blunted on the first mountain stage of the race as Juan Ayuso cracked dramatically on the final climb. When the dust settled on Thursday’s stage 6, Jay Vine had taken a stage win for UAE but only João Almeida remained in contention for a team that came into the Vuelta with two GC headliners.
Despite his collapse on the climb to Pal in Andorra, however, Ayuso reflected on the day with surprising calm.
“It’s been like this the whole race, and I’ve said it from day one and even before the start,” Ayuso told Eurosport. “My plan was not to go for the GC, but the team asked me to give it my all out of respect, so I tried. But I don’t feel good, so I went with the flow.”
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