'I was told from the car to play like this – it's not something I really enjoy': Juan Ayuso outwits breakaway rival on Vuelta a España stage 12

Juan Ayuso outgunned breakaway companion Javier Romo to take a second Vuelta a España stage win at at Los Corrales de Buelna on stage 12.

The Spanish UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, who has been in the media over the last few days following a controversial announcement about his departure from the team, attacked from a huge breakaway group with 26km of the mountainous stage to ride.

Countryman Romo (Movistar) tagged along, and the pair managed build enough of a lead to keep them out front to the finish, where Ayuso proved the strongest in a two-up sprint.

The pair did not always work well together, with Ayuso calling for Romo to work harder in the early stages and vice versa later on.

Ayuso said: "I had to play my cards and uh, I played the final Ks saying that I really wanted the stage and he had to put more (in) if he wanted to arrive [at the finish]," Ayuso said afterwards.

"I was told from the car to play like this. It's not something I really enjoy, not cooperating fully. But sometimes you have to play smart, and that's what I did in the final," he said.

He added: "In the sprint, I know this road a lot because this is where it finishes in the junior races also, so I knew how to time my sprint and yeah, it went out perfectly."

Despite the main group of GC favourites finishing several minutes down on Ayuso and many of the other members of the original 40-man breakaway, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) retained the GC lead.

The stage appeared to run smoothly in spite of concerns about pro-Palestine protestors, whose presence led to yesterday's stage finish in Bilbao being neutralised, with no winner awarded and GC times taken at the 3km to go mark.

How it happened

Bookended by two decent-sized mountain ascents and not a huge amount in-between, much of the action on this 144.9km outing in northern Spain centred around the beginning and the end of the parcours.

Thankfully, today's stage ran its course and a winner was celebrated at the end – as opposed to yesterday, where the chequered flag in Bilbao was put away again without ever waving a rider through. Not properly, anyway.

The peloton stayed together over the first 20km before the early break went on the approach to the day's first climb – the cat-two Puerto de Alisas – which began at 32km.

So far so normal. But perhaps less predictably, that first break was 18 riders strong. What's more, another huge bridging group also quickly formed and before too long, the two had joined up to form a very strong break of around 40 riders.

Boasting riders the strength of Juan Ayuso, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Mikel Landa (Movistar) and many more, it soon became clear that Vingegaard's Visma Lease a Bike team would have their hands full limiting the gap, let alone bringing it back.

The break did go all the way, building out a gap to six minutes and beyond. Equally predictably, the final climb of the cat-one Collada de Brenes proved the catalyst for the eventual winning move.

First James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) had a pop, but that was followed more emphatically by Ayuso's move, with Romo shadowing him. The pair formed a fractious working relationship that took them all the way to the finish, with the big break splintering behind them as riders did their best to rein them in.

Ultimately, Ayuso managed to position Romo right where he wanted him in a sinuous final kilometre, before sprinting around him without too much difficulty.

Result

Vuelta a España 2025, stage 12: Laredo > Los Corrales de Buelna (144.9km)

1. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 3:16:21
2. Javier Romo (Spa) Movistar, at s.t.
3. Brieuc Rolland (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +13s
4. Victor Campanaerts (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +17s
5. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek,
6. Nico Denz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, both at s.t.
7. Damian Howson (Aus) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +18s
8. Santiago Buitrago (Col) Bahrain Victorious, at s.t.
9. Pablo Castrillo (Spa) Movistar
10. Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, both at s.t.

General classification after stage 12

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 44:36:45
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 50s
3. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +56s
4. Torstein Træen (Nor) Bahrain Victorious, +1:06s
5. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +2:17
6. Bruno Amirail Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +2:23
7. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:26
8. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +2:30
9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:33
10. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +2:44