Juan Ayuso had to settle for sixth place at the European Championships in the Ardèche on Sunday. The Spaniard was, along with Remco Evenepoel, Christian Scaroni, and Paul Seixas, part of a group chasing Tadej Pogacar for a long time but cracked in the final lap. Afterwards, Ayuso was critical of Seixas and Scaroni's tactics.
Pogacar rode away alone on the final climb of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps (7.1 km at 7%). Behind him, a group of four formed: Evenepoel, Seixas, Scaroni, and Ayuso. “We could see Tadej for a long time but received no help from France and Italy,” the Spaniard told Eurosport, referring to Seixas and Scaroni respectively. “However, they decided to ride along in the group behind us; I don’t really understand why.”
Incidentally, Evenepoel was also annoyed by the poor cooperation within the group. “I heard every staff member from the French team standing by the roadside shouting at Seixas not to take pulls," the Belgian said to Het Nieuwsblad. “That’s a tactic, but still a strange one. Due to the lack of cooperation, the gap to Pogacar became too large to close. Although it was clear that Pogacar was the strongest rider in the race.”
Last race of the season
Ayuso did offer some help to Evenepoel in the chase after Pogacar. “I tried to help Evenepoel, but I was also at my limit. He was the strongest in the second group and he went off alone.” The 23-year-old rider then had to let go of Seixas and Scaroni on the last ascent of the Val d’Enfer (1.5 km at 9.9%) and was eventually overtaken by Toms Skujins. Thus, he crossed the finish line in sixth place.
A week earlier, Ayuso finished eighth at the World Championships in Rwanda. Two places further back, but with better legs. “I felt better in Kigali. This time, I was really exhausted two hours from the finish. It’s the last race of the season and it’s been an intense year. I gave everything and I’m happy with that,” concluded the UAE Emirates XRG rider, who will race for Lidl-Trek next season.
