The ascent of a budding cycling star from the Mediterranean coast
John Ayuso burst onto the international cycling stage last year with a resounding statement after clinching the Giro Ciclistico d’Italia, the youth version of the iconic Italian race known as the Baby Giro. Hailing from Xàbia, the rising rider swept the overall classification, claimed three individual stage victories, and dominated both the mountain and points classifications along the way.
The standout performance saw Emirates, a powerhouse team in the World Tour, step in to secure his services for the senior squad from Colpack. Despite being just 18 at the time and now 19, Ayuso did not wait for a formal invitation. He made his debut within days at the Giro d’Italia degli Appennini, finishing 17th but displaying peak form in the race’s final moments.
Since then, Ayuso has progressed steadily, shaping his development with patience. This measured approach mirrors a path taken by teammates like Tadej Pogacar, who found a solid platform with Emirates to win major races across the calendar. Ayuso’s growth has been described as a slow-cooked evolution in a demanding environment. At the end of 2021 he earned a second-place finish at Clásica Villafranca-Ordizia and a bronze at the European under-23 championships. A setback came at the Tour del Porvenir, where a fall forced him to abandon negotiations with the race’s favored status and return home earlier than anticipated.
The tour will not run
By 2022, Ayuso was delivering impressive performances in the year’s opening months. He placed highly at the Drome Classic (4th), took 2nd at the Laigueglia Trophy after Emirates controlled the podium, finished 5th overall at Volta a Catalunya, and secured 4th overall at Tour de Romandía, earning top junior honors in the process. A setback occurred at the Dauphiné when illness sidelined him from the race’s top-10 contention.
Those early spring results reinforced a positive impression of his integration into Emirates, where Ayuso demonstrated versatility across roles and courses. He tested himself in challenging events in both Catalonia and Romandía, and at Volta a Catalunya he came within reach of victory at La Molina, with only a narrow gap separating him from the podium. A sprint duel in Val d’Anniviers, Switzerland, left him just short of beating rivals Higuita and Vlasov.
Looking ahead, Ayuso was not expected to contest any of the season’s three grand tours as a leading figure. He did not manage the Giro d’Italia, would begin the season’s later stages with a few days of racing, and did not pre-register for the Tour de France where Pogacar held the title. The Vuelta a España in August appeared unlikely as well, though he remains a competitor who could surprise on the calendar’s biggest stage.
A nomadic family
Despite his early promise, Ayuso has shown a clear preference for steady, gradual progress rather than rushing into multi-week grand tours. Plans for the Vuelta a España, which begins in Elche and ends in Alicante at the tenth stage, would not be his immediate entry, serving instead as a welcome opportunity to provide a formal introduction to the region where he spent formative years. This marks a symbolic step in a journey that began long before his first pro wins.
Before the Ayuso-Pesquera family settled in Xàbia, the young Juan was born in Barcelona and spent time training in Atlanta and Madrid, including a stint with Canillas at Real Madrid’s Ciudad Deportiva Valdebebas. The family later chose Alicante’s coast for educational reasons—a bilingual school and a lifestyle that suited the budding cyclist. He embraced cycling with quiet determination, and the rest of his story has been gradually written in the peloton. Ayuso has shed the rookie label with time and experience, and the next chapter is expected to include his first professional victory on the road. It is not anticipated to take long.