DUBAI — The UAE Team Emirates are continuing their commitment to develop young talent by signing 17-year old Spanish rider Juan Ayuso on a five year deal with the team. The promising youngster is the current Spanish Junior National Champion and holds 6 victories to his name so far in 2020. As part of his development, Ayuso will spend his first contract year with a development team with the objective of gaining experience and making a gradual transition to the professional ranks. Ayuso, who hails from the Spanish province of Alicante, has taken the domestic junior ranks by storm and was quickly picked up on the radar of UAE Team manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez. Fernandez said: “Juan is a rider we have been following for a long time. It’s no secret that we like to work with young talented riders and Juan is the definition of this. “He has the right balance between physical talent and having a very good head on his shoulders. Along with Juan and his parents we are thinking more medium to long term. “The idea is for him to make a gradual transition into the World Tour team. We are deciding along with Juan and his family where is best for him to spend his first year — whether it be at a Continental or professional level is still to be defined. “He came to our team training camp last winter and he has raced on a bike given by the team this year so we have been giving him a hand alone the way. Last year he had an exceptionally strong season as a junior and he showed that again at the start of this year. “The idea is to give him time and space to develop as a rider and as a person. The priority at the moment is that he enjoys the bike. It’s a five year outlook with Juan and he is part of the long-term project we are building at UAE Team Emirates.” Ayuso said, “At the moment I’m an all-rounder but I think in the future I will head towards being more a climber. My first contact with the team was through Matxin midway through last season, then I got to know the team a bit better at their training camp last winter. “At the training camp I had the opportunity to see how the team actually worked. I was really impressed on how well the team was structured and the great atmosphere between the riders. “The decision of choosing UAE ahead of any other team is because the teams mentality is very similar to mine; a very ambitious mentality with a very hard work ethic behind it. “The team is relatively new, and it is taking huge steps to improve each year. I have no doubts that the team will become the best team in the World Tour in the near future.” — SG