Juan Ayuso makes it three UAE Team Emirates-XRG wins on the bounce at Vuelta a España

Juan Ayuso roared to his first Vuelta a España stage victory on Friday afternoon, with the Spaniard proving the best climber in the breakaway and celebrating his success atop the Cerler. Huesca La Magia. Going alone some 9.5km from the summit of the climb, Ayuso showed all of his class to drop his breakaway companions and claim his second Grand Tour stage victory of the season.

For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, stage 7 proved another stellar day, bringing with it a third stage victory on the bounce. Between the Team Time Trial win on Wednesday, Jay Vine’s breakaway success on Thursday, and Ayuso’s mountaintop victory, the Emirati squad has now claimed three stage wins in as many days.

It is the second Grand Tour stage win of Ayuso’s fledgling career, and marks an emphatic response to those who doubted him after he ceded time on stage 6. Using his newfound freedom to head into the breakaway, Ayuso proved an effective double act with the King of the Mountains classification leader, teammate Jay Vine.

The pair went up the road on the first categorised climb of the day, and were part of the 13-man group that was allowed an advantage of over four minutes by the peloton. As Vine extended his lead in the blue polka-dot jersey throughout the day, Ayuso readied himself for the all-important final climb.

Extending out for 12.1km at 5.9%, the Cerler. Huesca La Magia provided the ideal battleground for Vine and Ayuso to get to work. Around a kilometre into the ascent, Vine moved to the front of the breakaway and set a searing tempo, well aware that his teammate Ayuso would look to capitalise.

At 10.8km to go, Ayuso made his initial attack and although Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) initially responded well, the Spanish climber made his definitive acceleration some 9.5km from the summit. The Italian was unable to respond and Ayuso only extended his advantage through the final kilometres.

The 22-year-old eventually crossed the finish line with over a minute’s lead on those behind, able to celebrate one of his finest displays yet at his home Grand Tour. Speaking to the press after the finish, Ayuso summed up his emotions following a grand day out.

Ayuso: “After the Giro when I won my first Grand Tour stage, to win a stage here in La Vuelta, which for me is one of my favourite races, and the way especially I won it today, is something I will always remember. I am super proud.

“It is super nice [to have won three stages on the bounce], the Team Time Trial was something super special because it is a victory from everyone in equal parts. Then Jay did an amazing stage yesterday, winning in front of his wife and his child, so that was super special, and today me. We don’t have a sprinter, so I don’t think we will win tomorrow. But we hope we can carry on like this!”

The seeds for Ayuso’s victory were planted in the opening kilometres of the day, with the Spaniard attacking alone on the very first Category 1 test, the Port del Cantó (24.9km at 4.4%). Determined to seek his fortune from the day’s breakaway, the 22-year-old pressed on over the summit and awaited backup on the descent.

That help came in the form of his teammate Vine and a dozen more riders who wanted to try their luck out front. In total, a group of 13 riders coalesced at the head of the race and quickly opened up a gap of over four minutes to those in the peloton.

Over the summits of the next two climbs, the Coll de la Creu de Pervés and the Coll de L’Espina, respectively, Vine sprinted to the maximum points in the King of the Mountains classification. Cresting both ascents in first position, the Australian extended his lead in the blue polka-dot jersey to nine points by the end of the stage. With that box ticked, the stage 6 winner turned his attention to helping Ayuso.

Refusing to join any attacks from the breakaway, Vine instead set a hard tempo at the front of the group and looked to extend their advantage over the peloton behind. By the foot of the final climb, the now 10-man breakaway had a gap of three minutes and 37 seconds to the bunch, offering those at the front the opportunity to fight for the stage honours.

Needing no second invitation, Ayuso promptly attacked from the first ramps of the climb and would go on to seal UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s 76th win of the season. Speaking to reporters at the summit, Vine explained the team’s tactics on another successful afternoon for the Emirati squad.

Vine: “It’s been a really hard day. The team wanted me to try and get into the break and help go for the stage victory or, at moments there, I thought I was going to be a satellite rider on the last two climbs. But it was incredibly hard and I’m looking forward to an easier day tomorrow.

“I was in the break all day yesterday. I also spent a lot of energy on the first climb trying to get across [to Juan] and get a move going. He was solo for almost the whole Cat 1.

“I never really felt like I had it in my legs to win the stage and I would rather secure a win with Juan than both of us play [our cards] and it comes down to 90 seconds at the base of the climb, and get caught by the GC group. My job was to make sure we had four minutes by the base of the climb and then it was all up to him.”

Meanwhile, the peloton behind was commanded by Bahrain Victorious for most of the day, who had taken over the lead of the race on stage 6 and were duty-bound to ride. The Bahraini team were content to see the breakaway contest the win, but Visma-Lease a Bike appeared to have plans of their own heading into the final climb.

As Vine and Ayuso produced their final flourishes out front, the team of Jonas Vingegaard moved to the front of the peloton and began to set the pace. Their efforts ensured that the bunch began to climb the Cerler. Huesca La Magia (12.1km at 5.9%) at a fair rate, teeing up an expected battle between the general classification contenders.

The Dutch team’s plans, however, were ripped up by Marc Soler of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who sauntered to the front of the group with well over 6km left to ride. Producing an awe-inspiring pain face, the Catalan climber dropped a huge turn of speed on behalf of his team leader, João Almeida, who was waiting in the wings, ready to pounce.

That moment came around a kilometre later, with the Portuguese rider producing a vicious acceleration whilst seated in his saddle. As was the case on stage 6, only Vingegaard and Giulio Ciccone could initially respond, with the trio currently climbing like the three strongest riders in the race.

Despite Almeida’s best efforts, though, neither Ciccone nor Vingegaard would contribute to the pace-setting, with the pair no doubt feeling the effects of the 27-year-old’s prior attack. In turn, the group came to an impasse, and more riders came back into contention from behind.

For the final couple of kilometres, the impasse remained and Almeida decided to save his bullets for another day. Sensing his opportunity to offer UAE Team Emirates-XRG a stronger hand for the coming mountain stages, Soler clipped off the front of the peloton and gained five seconds back in the general classification at the line.

Although Soler’s small gap is all the Emirati squad had to show in terms of the battle for the red jersey, Almeida could take plenty of confidence in being the rider to race on the front foot on Friday afternoon. After the finish, the Portuguese climber congratulated his teammate Ayuso on a splendid victory and reflected on the battle he had ignited on the final climb.

Almeida: “He is a great rider of super class, and he is super strong, so he deserves it. It has been ups and downs for him and it is a hard road, so I think he deserves it and congratulations to him. Also, for the whole team, they were pretty amazing today.

“I saw there was an opportunity there to make it a hard finish, so I asked Marc to pull a bit to try. But I thought the climb would be a little bit harder, to be honest. But it is what it is, I tried. Maybe there was a gap there for somebody, but they also didn’t want to cooperate in the end.

“I have been feeling good every day, so I think it is a good sign, but I am looking forward to the next hard stages.”

Vuelta a España stage 7 results

1. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:49:41

2. Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) +1:15

3. Raúl García Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +1:21

10. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2:30

19. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2:35

Vuelta a España general classification after stage 7

1. Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) 25:18:02

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2:33

3. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2:41