It’s gone from a promising start to a frustrating spring for Juan Ayuso. The 23-year-old Spaniard will miss both Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège as he continues to deal with illness, adding another setback to what’s already been a disrupted campaign.
“Unfortunately Juan Ayuso will miss the upcoming Ardennes Classics. Medical tests after Itzulia Basque Country showed a recent viral infection and the Spaniard is not yet ready to return to competition,” his team posted.
Ayuso had hit the ground running after his winter move to Lidl-Trek, taking a strong win at the Volta ao Algarve and looking ready to carry that form into the bigger stage races. Instead, a crash at Paris-Nice and health issues at the Tour of the Basque Country stopped that momentum muy rápido. He abandoned in Spain with stomach problems and hasn’t recovered in time for the Ardennes block.
The Ayuso shared leadership thing
The plan had been for Ayuso to target these races, even amid some early-season tension over leadership alongside Mattias Skjelmose. That question is now settled by circumstance, with the Dane set to lead the team solo next week. When the Spaniard was signed, it apparently was a surprise to Skjelmose. “I found out quite early, without the team telling me. I thought that was a bit strange,” Skjelmose told TV 2 Sport at the time. Lidl-Trek made sure not to make the same mistake when Canadian champ Derek Gee-West was signed, after the whole contract situation with Israel-Premier Tech (now NSN Cycling).
As for Sunday, Skjelmose won Amstel in 2025, beating none other than Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel. Pogačar won’t be there on Sunday, but Evenepoel will.
Before Amstel, many of the riders (but not all, due to it taking place on Friday, not Wednesday) will ride Brabantse Pijl. Ayuso’s Lidl-Trek teammate Isabella Holmgren will be there, in her second race of the year. Magdeleine Vallières-Mill and her EF Education-Oatly teammate Alex Volstad will as well. Kiara Lylyk (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) and Minimax’s Émilie Fortin will also be racing Friday. Only one Canadian man will be racing, Alpecin-Premier Tech’s Hugo Houle. But at Amstel, there’s a whole smattering of Canadians racing in both categories.
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