Ayuso in trouble in the Alps: Lidl-Trek focuses everything on the time trial

Lidl-Trek makes no secret of the fact that Sunday was not a brilliant day for its co-captain Juan Ayuso , but the team firmly believes that the young Spaniard can come back in the individual time trial and the final mountain boulder of the Tour de France .

Ayuso finished stage 15 in eighth place, two minutes behind day winner Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). In the decisive phase of the final climb, the Spaniard had to rely on teammate Quinn Simmons to limit the damage to the other top riders in the general classification.

The overall standings are grim: Ayuso slips to sixth overall, 7 minutes and 29 seconds behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Teammate Mattias Skjelmose , who held up slightly better on the final climb, is eighth, 9:38 behind the yellow jersey.

Ayuso's comments after the stage were sparse, but head of sports directors Steven de Jongh shed some light on the rider's difficulties: "He had a tough time on the last climb, he tried to protect his position in the classification and limit his losses," he explained to Cyclingnews the following Monday.

When asked if it was simply a bad day or a physical issue, De Jongh responded with disarming simplicity: "Who can say? In the end, something was missing, and that's all." Skjelmose, however, had a more positive assessment: "It went well for him. Like the other day, he struggled when the pace increased, but he managed his pace, so we're quite satisfied."

All eyes are on the stage 16 time trial , an event that De Jongh and his staff have already studied carefully: "It's quite far from our hotel, we've already inspected it and tomorrow we'll do the official reconnaissance. But we have high hopes." The sports director prefers not to reveal exactly what is expected of Ayuso—a top-level time trialist when he's in form— "It's difficult to answer. If he reaches his expected numbers, we're satisfied. If he's far from there, we're not."

The sports director's prediction for the coming days: "I think Remco will secure second place after tomorrow's time trial. Then the battle for third place will be decided in the final three days. It will be up to the young riders to decide who will climb onto that podium." A thrilling final week, with Ayuso and Skjelmose ready to play their last cards.