Del Toro and UAE start dreaming of Giro victory, but need to explain sprint with Ayuso

Del Toro, whom we compared to his teammate and good friend Tadej Pogacar on Thursday, sat down at the press conference after another successful day. His third place in the day's results earned him four bonus seconds, which, together with the two from the intermediate sprint, gave him a six-second lead over many of his Giro opponents. For example, his lead over third-placed Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) has already increased to 1.18 minutes.

Ayuso is second, now 38 seconds behind. That was only two more than before stage 13 because the Spaniard overtook Del Toro in the intermediate sprint and gained six seconds. "We did discuss that Isaac would basically go for the bonus seconds. Juan has also been a good teammate. But now he was in a situation where he could take four," sports director Joxean Matxin told IDLPRoCycling.com.

We can, of course, speculate about Ayuso's sprint to gain a few seconds, but according to Del Toro, his teammate's action was quite logical. ”I started my sprint too early because I thought we would only sprint uphill. However, in the final phase, it flattened out, making it easier for other riders to take advantage of the slipstream. Ayuso ended up overtaking me, but I still finished third, so that was okay. As long as the team gets the seconds."

The situation between Del Toro and Ayuso has recently been a hot topic. At UAE, they dismiss it as 'the perfect situation,' but we overlook that the team may be competing with two potential winners for the first time. Many Grand Tours in recent years were all about Tadej Pogacar, and when he wasn't there, there were many leaders on paper, but at best, it came down to a battle for the podium.

"Our goal is always to fight for the win with all our top riders, not just in Grand Tours," says Matxin. "We started this Giro with Juan and Adam Yates as leaders, but due to a tactically challenging day (in stage 9 to Siena, ed.), Del Toro is now also one of those top riders. And you could add Brandon McNulty and Jay Vine to that list beforehand. Now that Isaac is wearing pink, we respect his position as leader."

Is this new situation with two winners instead of just two leaders difficult? Matxin laughs out loud. "It's not difficult at all. It's only difficult when you're all riding at the back; this is closer to perfection. If you're first and second in a Grand Tour with one week to go, that's a great position. We're not putting any pressure on Isaac but giving him confidence. No stress, enjoy the moment, and keep fighting for it every day."

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We've often seen surprising names take the lead in Grand Tours, and often, the order is restored in the third week. Perhaps many people don't take Del Toro very seriously as the overall winner yet, but the Mexican believes in himself. "I've always dreamed of what I'm experiencing now. No one can tell you when you're ready to do something like this, but I want to believe I can. Why not? If I don't believe in it, who will? Little Isaac, who used to sit in front of the TV, will be proud of my progress here."

One argument against Del Toro keeping the pink jersey is the energy he has put into bonus seconds throughout the Giro. "I don't think I'm wasting a lot of energy, to be honest. Everyone rides at full throttle at moments like that; at least, that's what I assume and hope," he laughed aloud. "These press moments cost me more energy than the rest, but everyone wastes the same amount in the race."

Let the third week begin because we are ready for the big battle. There are still ten riders who could win the Giro, and Del Toro believes that, too. "I think you can still name anyone at this point because everyone has approached the race differently. The riders in the top 20 are so strong, and many already have victories, podiums, or a top 5 or top 10 in Grand Tours on their list of achievements. They know how it works, while I'm the new guy who must learn it all quickly. I'm not the favorite on paper, so I'll have to be smart."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])