Juan Ayuso on pole position to win Paris-Nice: "But total turnaround is possible"

The new leader in Paris-Nice is Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard took over the coveted yellow leader's jersey after a strong collective performance from his Lidl-Trek team in the team time trial. Ayuso now holds the best cards to win the race, but he’s definitely not counting his chickens yet.

After two glorified mass sprints, Tuesday brought the first major test for the GC contenders in Paris-Nice. A team time trial was on the schedule, covering the flat to gently rolling roads between Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire and Pouilly-sur-Loire. Cycling fans were in for a treat, as the team time trial was full of plot twists.

In the end, it was INEOS Grenadiers who posted the fastest time over 23.5 kilometers, followed by Juan Ayuso’s Lidl-Trek. The American squad was just two seconds behind at the finish. “We wanted to win this team time trial and had a great opportunity to do so. When you lose by only two seconds, disappointment outweighs joy,” Ayuso said afterward to Het Laatste Nieuws.

However, Ayuso did not come away empty-handed, as he got to don the yellow leader’s jersey after the stage. Even more importantly, his biggest rival for the overall win—Jonas Vingegaard—is now seventeen seconds behind.

Day by day
“That is of course a nice gap. Especially in a race like Paris-Nice, which tends to be quite nervous and where you always have to stay alert because of possible bad weather and echelons,” Ayuso explains. “I’d rather be seventeen seconds ahead than have to make that time up.”

With the possible cancellation of the queen stage, the race could well come down to a battle for seconds. “On paper, yes, that’s possible. But again, there are multiple factors that can make things tough here and cause a complete turnaround. For example, the weather forecast for the stage to Uchon isn't looking too rosy. I take it day by day.”