Juan Ayuso's reluctance to assist Tadey Pogachar on the Galibier pass on stage 4 of the Tour de France was evident in the gestures of teammate Joan Almeida.

Almeida played a key role in setting up Pogachar's final attack on the Galibier, but 3km from the summit, he asked Ayuso, who was near the back of the lead group, for help.

Ayuso answered the call shortly thereafter and took over the reins from Almeida. Pogachar then broke away in the last kilometer of the Galibier to take the stage win and the yellow jersey. Ayuso sprinted across the Valloire to take third place and fourth overall, 1:10 back.

On Wednesday, at the start of stage 5 in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Ayuso downplayed the importance of his shouting match with Almeida.

"It's peaceful within the team, there are no problems. Yesterday was an unnecessary gesture, but it is what it is."

Ayuso's view of the incident was identical to Pogachar's at Tuesday evening's press conference. Pogachar joked, "When the gas pedal is at full throttle, even if you just want to say 'I love you,' you have to yell."

On Wednesday morning, UAE Team Emirates Sports Manager Maxine Joxen Fernandez explained that due to the headwind in the Galibier, the team deviated from its usual tactic of shaking off players after a long turn at the front. Instead, Almedia, Ayuso, and Adam Yates shared the job by swapping turns. Said Matsin, "With the headwind, it would have been better to switch turns for recovery instead of taking long turns."

Sports director Andrei Hauptmann dismissed the notion that Ayuso was trying to get himself into the GC by positioning himself at the back of the pack, insisting that his position was not intentional, but was created by chance.

"No, this is a race," Hauptmann told Cycling News. 'Everyone is fighting for position, and there is always someone a little bit behind.' This is cycling."

"We debriefed as normal. There was nothing to say. Everyone agreed that we had done a great job."

"We had a great time.

Ayuso was only 20 seconds off the podium, but both Hauptmann and Matosin insisted that the team's sole focus was to win the yellow jersey with Pogachar in Nice. A repeat of last year, when Adam Yates finished on the podium in Paris with Pogachar, was not in the team's plans.

"If Taddeji needs another rider, even if they are at the top of the GC, they will always help," Hauptmann said.

"No, there is only one leader," Matsin confirmed. 'I run for Taddei. We only focus on running for Taddei."

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