Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) may be living a "dream come true" with his debut in the Tour de France with the support of GC leader Tadey Pogachar, but his future ambitions are much bigger and he truly dreams of one day taking the yellow jersey He is.

The Spaniard is one of cycling's top prospects, having finished third overall in the Vuelta at the age of 19, the youngest rider ever to do so. He also debuted at the 2020 Tour two years younger than Pogachar and snatched the overall win from Primoš Roglic in the time trial on stage 20.

Nevertheless, there is no questioning Ayuso's loyalty to the Slovenian, who, along with Adam Yates and Joan Almeida, is just one of the climbing support members of the Emirati team supporting Pogachar at the Tour. Being part of a team that completely dominates the race is "a good start" toward his own career goals, he agrees.

"It's a dream come true, it's a race I went to see when I was 10 or 12 years old on vacation with my family," Ayuso told Cycling News at this summer's Criterium du Dauphiné.

"It's the biggest race in cycling and my biggest dream. My dream is to one day win the Tour personally. But to race on the team that wins my first Tour would be a good start."

Despite being on the same team since the Spaniards joined the World Tour in late 2021, Ayuso and Pogachar have raced as teammates on only a few occasions, including last year's Giro delle Miglia and the 2022 Flèche Wallonne They have never raced a stage race together, only in the Giro delle Miglia last year and in Flèche Wallonne in 2022.

However, Ayuso believes the two can build a strong combination in the Italian and French Tours, drawing inspiration from Yates, who scored a career-best podium finish as a Pogachar rider in last year's race.

"If I have the legs, I think I can help him. I've never done a stage race with him, so I can't say for sure, but everything seems easy with him, so I think I'll be fine," Ayuso said.

"If Tadej is ...... can't call it safe, but if he's comfortable with the lead, and if I get a chance, like Adam [Yates] did, to get a podium or a stage win, that would be great."

Ayuso was speaking at a time when Jonas Vingegaard's return to the Tour was not confirmed, and he abandoned the Dauphiné a few days later after injuring both hips in a high-speed group crash on stage 5. These reduced his chances, but he recovered enough to make the eight-man roster.

In 2024, he finished second behind Vingegaard in Tirreno-Adriatico and won GC in Ituria-Basque, but finished a disappointing fifth in the Tour de Romandie.

"I think this year's Tour is a good parcours for me. One of the time trials is flat, where I think I can perform well, and one is a hard stage, where I think I can defend myself. I think it's a good race for me because all the hard stages are equally hard."

Nevertheless, when asked what his actual role was, he had clear goals for UAE Team Emirates.

"I think the whole team is focused [on Pogachar achieving the Giro/Tour double] and we are racing to achieve that."

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