The separation between Juan Ayuso and UAE Team Emirates – XRG looked to be a long time in the making and reached its ultimate climax during the Vuelta a España. The decision had already been taken, but after the team revealed the departure during a rest day, the Spaniard exploded and was not shy of criticizing the team management and the way he was dealt with that led to his departure from the team.”I have an excellent relationship with Ayuso. And I think you can have an opinion, but I also believe it’s not always necessary to express it in the heat of the moment in front of the media,” team manager Joxean Matxin said to SpazioCiclismo. At the time the reaction was explosive, as Ayuso was apparently warned half an hour before the statement was released, after it had been previously agreed that it would only be shared after the Vuelta. He was shocked with the situation and the next day in the race he was already acting on his own in terms of his statements, calling the team a dictatorship, but not criticizing his teammates whom he would then help besides chasing his own individual success in the race.
“Sometimes you have to think carefully before speaking, because other people don’t always do things the way we want them to or think the way we do,” Matxin continued. Ayuso turned pro with UAE and still continues to be a massive talent in development, but with so many leaders in the team, there was no space for the Spaniard who hasn’t been able to finish a Grand Tour on a high since the 2023 Vuelta a España.
“These are normal circumstances in life, and they also serve as lessons. I think Juan wasn’t lucky in his statements, but he’s a rider to whom I wish the best.”
Matxin tried keeping Ayuso UAE
However Matxin argues that the pressure for a separation did not come from him, and he continued to back Ayuso until the end. “I always tried to convince him to stay with us. But when we met to discuss it, both sides’ points of view were understandable,” he admit. “I believe the agreement reached was the best one, both for the rider and for both teams.”
Ayuso ultimately reached a multi-year agreement with Lidl-Trek where he will be a leader but already finds some potential hostility in a Mattias Skjelmose who had been previously promised to have a team built around him and is also very vocal with his feelings with the media.
But Matxin knows that Ayuso is going to be a rival for UAE: “He will be a rival to keep in mind, even for the next Tour de France. I already know he’ll do impressive things, and I hope he can win races, although I hope he never beats us”.
“He’s one of the best riders in the world. In 2025, he won a stage at the Giro d’Italia, two stages at the Vuelta a España, one at the Volta a Catalunya, and he won the Tirreno-Adriatico… What can you say about a rider with these results? On our team, only three riders have won more than him this year: Tadej Pogacar, João Almeida, and Isaac Del Toro.”
Matxin will certainly continue to be asked about the Spaniard due to their close relationship, however it is now in the past. “Ayuso will undoubtedly be one of the most important riders in Lidl-Trek and will be successful, but that’s not something that worries me, honestly. Not because I don’t take him into account, but because I have to think about my team and I want to focus on what I can talk about and what I have to talk about, namely the UAE Emirates XRG.”