‘I Expected More From Him’: A Lidl-Trek Teammate Says Out Loud What Many Were Thinking About Juan Ayuso

Mathias Vacek might not be a household name yet, but he’s a rising star at budding super team Lidl-Trek.

And he clearly isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

In an interview with MARCA, the Czech rider offered a candid assessment of Juan Ayuso’s first season with the team, saying the Spanish star fell short of what he was expecting.

“To be honest, I expected more from him. He started good with the win in the Algarve, and it looked promising, but throughout the season I had the feeling something is missing,” Vacek told MARCA. “He was good, but not at the top like we were used to. I think everyone could see it.”

Ayuso moved to Lidl-Trek in 2026 after a blockbuster transfer and a controversial split with UAE Emirates-XRG. He wanted more freedom, and Lidl-Trek offered him a juicy contract and the chance to headline its grand tour ambitions.

After a hot start to beat Paul Seixas at the Volta ao Algarve, his spring came off the rails. He crashed out of Paris-Nice while in the leader’s jersey and then abandoned Itzulia Basque Country with illness.

Vacek, who made his Tour debut this summer, said he saw warning signs as the Tour approached.

“At the Sierra Nevada training camp, he had allergy problems, he went back home to Andorra, and he started training, but you could feel that something was going on. I don’t know whether it was mental or what,” Vacek said.

“I don’t want to say something I don’t know, but that’s my feeling,” he said. “In the end, at the Tour, you could see he was cooked, and Skjelmose was better than him. Definitely, for me when we signed him, I expected him to be like he was in the earlier years.”

Vacek was also quick to say that Ayuso can fly when everything clicks and stressed he was only sharing his observations, not criticizing his teammate.

“If he’s really good, if he’s on a wave, he can be top, he can also follow Pogi,” he said. “With these guys, when mentally something is wrong, if something wrong or a little detail is missing, they lose the confidence a bit.”

Too much training, not enough left for the classics

Vacek was equally honest about his own season.

The 24-year-old is emerging as a potential classics powerhouse, but his spring campaign fizzled. He didn’t hit the top 20 all spring and later saved his season with two stage wins and the GC at the ZLM Tour.

What happened? He says he overloaded too soon in an early season build in southern Spain.

“It was a season of ups and downs. Starting at the beginning, the classics went badly for me because I was tired. I started training quite early, and in Spain, with the good weather, you get into shape in three or four weeks,” Vacek told MARCA. “I got carried away with training so early. By the classics, when it really mattered, I was exhausted.”

A reset and an altitude camp helped turn things around. Vacek finished third overall at the Tour de Suisse, then completed his Tour debut by helping teammate Mads Pedersen secure the green jersey.

At the Tour de Suisse, simply staying close to Tadej Pogačar counted for more.

“When I was able to follow Pogačar on a stage of the Tour de Suisse. I think that was something even bigger than a victory for me, because there aren’t many riders capable of following him,” he said. “That was definitely the high point. And the worst moment, without doubt, was the crash in Montréal where I broke my nose.

“That’s cycling. There are always bad moments, but if you know you’re giving everything and committing 100 percent, you know the good moments will eventually come.”

Following in Pedersen’s tracks?

Lidl-Trek brass clearly more upside and Vacek is signed through 2029.

Some see him taking over classics leadership from Pedersen when the big Dane retirees.

“Yes, I’ve had several one-on-one conversations with Mads. He’s a very honest person and tells you things exactly as he feels them,” Vacek told MARCA. “He has told me clearly that I’m one of the riders who will take over when he retires.”

Already four seasons in the WorldTour, Vacek says he’s not a carbon-copy of the marauding Dane, but admits he takes inspiration from the former world champion.

“I want to follow a clear path, try to be like him, and achieve the same victories. I’m a slightly different type of rider because I climb better, but I want to follow in his footsteps,” Vacek said.

“Everything I can learn from him now benefits me. I feel I’m gradually getting closer to his level, so I hope to be there soon if everything goes well.”

He’s obviously already taken one lesson to heart about being a leader — say what you think.