Juan Ayuso blitzed the 18.5km particular person time trial on stage three of the Tour de Romandie on Friday to take the general lead of the race.
Normally a robust climber, Ayuso was modest in his ambition to defend his lead on Saturday’s stage over 5 Alpine climbs on the best way to the ski resort of Thyon at an altitude of 2,076m.
“On short efforts like today I can perform at my best, but tomorrow in the mountains will be more representative of my form,” stated Ayuso after simply his third aggressive day within the saddle of 2023.
“If I can’t win I’ll go all in for Adam (Yates). I’ll try and defend the yellow jersey, it’s a very good opportunity for the team.”
To declare his first World Tour triumph Friday, Ayuso accomplished the largely flat time trial in 25min 15sec in a rural setting within the French-speaking half of Switzerland, with much less cornering than an city route, and fewer highway furnishings.
Matteo Jorgenson of Movistar was second at 5 seconds whereas Ayuso’s teammate Yates was third at 17sec.
Ayuso leads the general standings by 18sec from Jorgenson with world time trial champion Tobias Foss in third at 19sec.
Chris Froome, a four-time Tour de France winner, completed 3min 19sec down as he seeks a begin place on the Israel Premier Tech workforce for the Tour this yr.
After Saturday’s likely decisive stage, Sunday’s finale is a 170km run to Geneva over two categorised climbs.
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