Juan Ayuso withdraws from Giro d'Italia after bee sting: ‘I can't see out my right eye'
Juan Ayuso has withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia after a bee sting left the 22-year-old struggling to see.
'Yesterday during the stage, I was stung by a wasp or a hornet, and people can see how my eye looks,' he told Eurosport ahead of Thursday's stage 18. 'I can't see out of my right eye. I'm here because I want to support the team. My team (UAE Team Emirates) told me not to start, but I wanted to at least try, to test myself in the first few kilometres.'
Ayuso eventually pulled up and withdrew with around 110km remaining, having already been distanced by both the peloton and grupetto on the opening climb.
Juan Ayuso abandona el Giro y se mete directo al coche del equipo.#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/LawqHInl8U
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) May 29, 2025
The Spanish rider had also been suffering from a knee injury, having lost almost 50 minutes on the general classification (GC) over the past two days.
This has been a chastening Giro for Ayuso, who entered the race with genuine hopes of overall victory — having told Spanish newspaper Marca that anything but a podium would be a disappointment.
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After beating his rival GC contenders to win stage seven — a sharp climb to Tagliacozzo — Ayuso briefly appeared race favourite.
However, Ayuso's 21-year-old teammate Isaac del Toro took the Maglia Rosa two days later, distancing his team leader on the white gravel roads of Tuscany. Ayuso needed three stitches on his knee after crashing, which he says has worsened throughout the race.
The Spniard was definitely dropped by the peloton on the penultimate climb of stage 16, before riding with the grupetto the following day.
Ayuso's withdrawal, given his injuries and lack of form over recent days, is unlikely to significantly affect Del Toro's chances of pink — the Mexican has strong climbing domestiques like Rafa Majka, Adam Yates, and American Brandon McNulty still in support. The Giro returns to the mountains on Friday, ahead of two decisive stages.
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