Del Toro names Visma | Lease a Bike, Carapaz, and UAE among his Giro mistakes: "You should’ve told me about van Aert earlier"

There will be few cycling fans who do not believe that Del Toro should have won the Giro d'Italia earlier this year. The now 21-year-old Mexican was riding his second Grand Tour, and although UAE Emirates-XRG selected Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates as their leaders, Del Toro was given a free role. In December, he had already announced that he wanted to seize every opportunity from that position.

And so he went all out in the first time trial, finished second behind Ayuso in the first uphill test, and entered the ninth stage without losing any time. It was the Strade Bianche stage on the Tuscan gravel, the day Del Toro lost the stage to Wout van Aert, but remained in the pink leader's jersey in the GC.

It was agreed that Del Toro would not lose any time in the first week and would join the attack on day 9, rather than waiting for Ayuso, who had been stranded by bad luck. "All day long, we were all focused on not making any mistakes. We always had to be at the front and be alert. They told me I would get the chance to fight for it, and when I get that chance, I go for it. I took advantage of that."

In fact, while many of the GC contenders crashed on the gravel and suffered other setbacks, Del Toro slipped into the first group and fought with Van Aert for the stage win. It was only then that he felt free to ride for himself. “My role was that of a domestique, but we wanted to play with our numerical advantage and I was allowed to wreak havoc and go for time bonuses.”

This meant that after the stage to Siena, Del Toro led the GC by 1.13 minutes over Ayuso. But it was only when he held his own in the second week and was often the best of the GC contenders at the finish that UAE started to shift. "It was only after a few podium places that the team realized I was further ahead than they thought. Then they gave me complete freedom."

For a short while, Del Toro seemed to slow down in the third week. Still, after winning the stage on day 17, he entered stage 20 over the Colle delle Finestre with a 43-second lead over Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and even 1.21 minutes over Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike). Things started well on the Finestre, but pretty soon everything slipped out of his hands.

It started with EF, who attacked full throttle for Carapaz, leaving Del Toro isolated. “I didn't follow immediately because it was an hour-long climb, and EF's effort made no sense. Only when Brandon McNulty and Rafal Majka were no longer there did I make the move.” Carapaz and Del Toro came together, with Yates then joining them.

The Brit took advantage of the holdup and continued solo. It turned out to be the crucial move and, according to Del Toro, a case of underestimation. “Carapaz was the one who had shown in the Giro that he had the legs, so they told me on the radio to watch him. I think I would do things differently now, but would that have made me a better rider? I made mistakes, partly due to a lack of experience.”

Nevertheless, Del Toro emphasized that he was not solely to blame for the situation that arose on the Finestre. “When the radio told me that Yates was riding at the front and Van Aert too, Simon already had a 55-second lead. That was a shock to me. You should have told me about Van Aert when he had 10 seconds, then I would have replied: let's attack, let's give it a try.”

Del Toro had already lost the Giro before he even knew what was going on. “I think the guys in the car didn't want me to push too hard and end up fifth or sixth in the GC. We only lost one position, but it was the little mistakes that cost us. I made a tactical error, overlooking details, like Van Aert.”

Still, Del Toro thinks he would have lost the Giro even if Yates, Carapaz, and he had stayed together. “When Simon came back, I knew I would lose the Giro. They both wanted to try and had an advantage with their height and weight. I'm proud of my Giro, but not of my second place. I could have won, and that has made me stronger for the future.”