Juan Ayuso will target the Tour de France podium in 2026 with his new team Lidl-Trek, where he will lead the German team’s ambitions alongside Mads Pedersen, who missed the Tour this past July.
The rising Spanish star will have sole ownership of a team’s GC ambitions at the Tour de France for the first time, having broken his contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG to join Lidl-Trek as a marquee signing.
Ayuso knows full well that the man to beat in the Tour will be former teammate Tadej Pogačar, and while his ambitions are high, he was realistic in predicting his chances of taking down the world champion.
“To win the Tour this year is – I wouldn’t say not realistic – but I think we also have to know where we are,” he said.
In preparation for the Tour de France, the 23-year-old will kick off at the Volta ao Algarve, before racing Paris-Nice, Itzulia Basque Country, La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné (Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).
Ayuso opened up his press conference with a statement on his messy exit from UAE…
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