Getting aero in Algarve: Juan Ayuso extends his race lead

With the race leader’s jersey to defend in his first time trial of the season, all eyes were on Juan Ayuso to see how he performed in the third stage of Volta ao Algarve. Luckily, this is a rider who can handle the heat. The 23-year-old was well-prepared for a race against the clock after a winter of windtunnel testing optimising his position and equipment, and he had confidence in his form after yesterday’s strong climbing showing on Alto de Foia.

His teammates’ performances set the bar high earlier on in the day with impressive times from young riders Héctor Álvarez and Jakob Söderqvist putting them both in the top-10 overall. Ayuso was the last man to take to the course as the afternoon sun was setting in Portugal and he executed a perfect time trial over the 19.5-kilometer course. He crossed the finish line just seven seconds slower than ITT specialist and multiple world champion Filippo Ganna and extended his lead overall in the race. With two stages remaining, Ayuso has a seven second buffer on Paul Seixas and will fight alongside his teammates to the hold onto the GC lead until the race reaches its conclusion in Malhão on Sunday.

“You’re always curious to see in competition how the bike feels and how all of the work with the team plays out. I didn’t win and it’s the second day finishing in second place so it is a bit, I won’t say bad, but it always hurts to lose. But to lose against one of the best TT specialists in the world like Filippo Ganna, I have to be happy with that. The bike felt really good and I am really happy with the equipment from all the work the team did behind me this winter to get me on a really fast set-up. Also not only me, we have three guys in the top-10 which shows how good we are and how good our equipment is.”