The Dane then questioned his new teammate\u2019s willingness to work for a team. According to Skjelmose, the big question is: \u201cIf Ayuso finds it difficult to ride for Tadej Poga\u010dar at UAE, then I don\u2019t know if he\u2019ll want to help me at all when it comes down to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acutely aware of his reputation, Ayuso tried to calm things down. \u201cI can understand some parts of [his statement],\u201d Ayuso said Sunday at the European Continental Championships, according to Feltet.dk<\/a>. \u201cIf the team has said, \u2018You are the leader,\u2019 I can understand a certain kind of frustration.\u201d But the 23-year-old Spaniard pointed out that cycling\u2019s top teams all feature multiple star riders, including his former team, which is one reason he made the move. \u201cIt\u2019s normal if you want to be a super team that you keep signing good riders. UAE, Visma, and now Red Bull have a lot of riders who are racing for the general classification. You can\u2019t be a super team and only have one rider.\u201d<\/p>\n Which has become increasingly true as cycling continues to evolve and more moneyed sponsors, like Lidl-Trek, have come into the sport. All eyes will be on Ayuso, who will have to perform up to expectations and demonstrate a willingness to work for the team, and Skjelmose, if that is required. But one can understand the Dane\u2019s agitation. At age 23, Ayuso already has 16 wins, including the Tirreno-Adriatico this year and three Grand Tour stages. At 25, Skjelmose has 14 wins, including this year\u2019s sensational victory in the Amstel Gold Race. But he has a poor Grand Tour record, his best finish being a fifth place in last year\u2019s Vuelta. It doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to figure out who will be the team\u2019s principal rider.<\/p>\n A one-time Visma future star departs<\/p>\n Another important move was that of the 22-year-old Cian Uijtdebroeks from Visma\u2013Lease a Bike, where he was once regarded as a future Grand Tour star, to the Spanish Movistar team, which has fallen on hard times and has registered only nine wins this year, four of them in national championships. Their main man, Enric Mas, is 30 and has had a winless season, which ended prematurely when he crashed out of the Tour de France and was diagnosed with thrombophlebitis in his left leg. Movistar also signed the 24-year-old Ra\u00fal Garc\u00eda Pierna from the probably soon-to-be-defunct Ark\u00e9a\u2013B&B Hotels, giving the team a solid cadre of young riders, along with Pablo Castrilla (24 years old), the Czech Pavel Nov\u00e1k (20), and Iv\u00e1n Romeo (22).<\/p>\n \u201cIf I have to follow my heart, I want to ride the Grand Tours and compete for the GC. That is also my ambition for the coming years,\u201d Uijtdebroeks said.<\/a> \u201cNext year, I want to participate in the Giro and the Vuelta again to compete for a good GC. Movistar feels like a warm family that wants to support me there. That\u2019s why I\u2019m leaving for this family.\u201d<\/p>\n Rooijakkers joins Longo Borghini<\/p>\n There was also a pretty big deal for women\u2019s cycling. The indefatigable Dutch rider Pauliena Rooijakkers, who did so much work for her country in the recent European Road Race Championship, won by compatriot Demi Vollering, is leaving Fenix-Deceuninck and moving to UAE Team ADQ, where she\u2019ll be joining the likes of two-time Giro d\u2019Italia Women winner Elisa Longo Borghini<\/a> and the rising 23-year-old French rider Maeva Squiben, who announced herself by winning two successive stages at this year\u2019s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with long solos.<\/p>\n \u201cUAE Team ADQ has shown a very professional structure and clear ambitions, with strong leaders like Elisa Longo Borghini and a constant focus on winning, Rooijakkers said<\/a> about the two-year deal. \u201cThe team\u2019s vision, the way they work, and their attention to detail convinced me that this was the right place to continue my career.\u201d<\/p>\n She made it clear that her ambition was to support Longo Borghini and the rest of the team. \u201cI see myself as a hardworking support rider for the team, but also as someone who can show her strengths, especially in the mountains,\u201d she said. \u201cMy main goal for the new season is to be there for my teammates in the biggest races, like the Giro and the Tour. Of course, I also aim to stay consistent and achieve strong personal performances. But the team\u2019s success always comes first.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel\u2013Premier Tech sues Derek Gee<\/p>\n On a final note, the Canadian champion Derek Gee unilaterally broke his contract with Israel\u2013Premier Tech on August 25, due to \u201cserious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal-belief standpoint.\u201d Israel\u2013Premier Tech have declared that Gee\u2019s contract, which runs until 2028, is valid. He has not yet signed with another team and now claims<\/a> that Israel\u2013Premier Tech is demanding he pay upwards of \u20ac30 million in damages for breach of contract.<\/p>\n Gee\u2019s issues with the team included the protests that have dogged it during races this year as a result of the Gaza conflict. \u201cI terminated my contract with just cause, as is every person\u2019s right when they are unable to continue performing their work under the existing circumstances,\u201d he wrote in a statement published on social media<\/a>. \u201cThis decision was not taken lightly \u2013 it followed an irreparable relationship with the team principal, as well as serious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal-belief standpoint that weighed heavily on my conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement went on to say, \u201cI understand the team sees if differently, and that it will be for the competent authorities to decide; however, I am now facing what I understand to be a damages claim said to exceed 30 million euros \u2013 for doing nothing more than exercising my fundamental rights as a professional and a person\u2026 These actions are also a reflection of the very issues that led to the breakdown of the relationship to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n The 28-year-old Gee is one of the good guys of the peloton and a talented rider who finished fourth in this year\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, suggesting that he was just coming to the peak of his abilities. I hope he finds another team soon and that the UCI will be able to resolve the situation in such a way that no one loses face or funds.<\/p>\n ![\"Aero](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cian-Uijtdebroeks-Aero-Helmet-profimedia-0853628653-CVR.webp.webp\")
<\/a>Another important move was that of the 22-year-old Cian Uijtdebroeks from Visma\u2013Lease a Bike. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/p>\n