Anyone who thinks Del Toro is disappointed or panicking after this serious blow is mistaken: "Maybe I can attack"

"They're half a minute behind now, right?" the pink jersey wearer asked aloud after finishing in front of the CyclingPro camera. After a nod from the press present confirming that Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz had indeed closed the gap to half a minute, Del Toro was anything but worried. The Mexican hadn't had such a bad day after all. “Aha, okay. I actually felt pretty good."

Um, what? Why did Del Toro lose more than a minute and a half to Carapaz and just under a minute to Yates? "I tried to stay with the best on the steepest climb, but they definitely did their best to cause damage. So I tried to stay with them, which was very difficult. I have no regrets because it was a very tough day for everyone."

Despite his lead dwindling considerably, Del Toro's pink dream is still alive. He is very grateful to his team for that. "Being in this position for the first time, I couldn't be happier with how the team has supported me, how much confidence they have in me, how much work they have done, and how much experience they have given me.

Del Toro is, therefore, not panicking. "So far, so good, but I didn't have the legs to keep up with the best. I gave it my all right to the finish line and I'm proud of that, but these things aren't easy in cycling." For me, the chances are still the same. I realized today that I was riding in pink because everyone else was trying to catch me."

While UAE Emirates-XRG mainly played the Ayuso card in the first two weeks, in the sixteenth stage, they had no choice but to play the Del Toro card. The Spaniard had to drop out very early on and lost thirteen minutes as a result. "We know him well, so we know how strong he can be," Del Toro said, supporting his teammate after the race.

Ayuso had been struggling with knee problems since the ninth stage to Siena, and that finally got the better of him on Tuesday. "So he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. He's having a tough time right now because today was a bad day. He already said in the morning that he wasn't feeling great. Everyone could see that he was struggling today, but I'm sure he'll get back to the level we've seen him at before. As a team and friend, I know he'll be back."

With five stages to go, Del Toro still leads the GC. How does he rate his chances after stage sixteen? "For me, the chances are still the same. I realized today that I was riding in pink because everyone was trying to catch me," laughed the Mexican rider, who still considers it a great honor to ride in pink. "It's still an incredible feeling, but I can't do any better than this. It was tough for everyone and a better day for some teams than others, but that's normal. I need to manage it better. Tomorrow and the days after will be more of the same, but I hope and want to recover better and improve."

During the press conference, he added: "For me, it's still the same Giro. I have to play my cards right and stay up front. And maybe I can attack, although I'll also have to keep defending. I didn't have the best legs today, but that's no excuse, so I gave everything I had. I wanted to show the team that I was giving every ounce of energy in my body to defend the jersey. Then I hope for better legs in the coming days."