Del Toro sees Strade Bianche podium as “a nice bonus”, Christen wants to return for the win

Both Del Toro and Christen, labelled UAE’s “young bullets” by Pogačar after the finish, blew the race apart with their scorching pace on Monte Sante Marie. Once Pogačar had gone clear, the pair then focused on controlling the chasing group behind. In the closing phase, Del Toro still managed to turn that work into a podium finish of his own.

“I’m really happy with today,” Del Toro said to Cycling Pro Net. “We worked very hard as a team today, from the first rider to the last. It was a real team performance.”

During the race, Del Toro was mainly occupied with keeping top talent Paul Seixas under control, although according to the Frenchman that did not always happen in the neatest way. “I tried to neutralise the attacks so the pace in the chasing group would not get too high,” Del Toro explained. “Then in the final, I was able to follow Seixas when he launched his move. Being on the podium is a nice bonus for us.”

While Seixas was not entirely pleased with Del Toro afterwards, the Mexican still had warm words for his rival. “He has already shown in other races that he is a very strong rider. I think it is great to race against riders of that level.”

Del Toro and his team leader Pogačar get on well, and that means the world champion is often willing to give him a bit more freedom in certain races than he might give others. Still, Del Toro stressed that his main focus was always on riding in support of his leader. “Pogačar always tries to give me a bit of space in races like this, but I don’t take it. I’m here to help him, and I do that with pleasure. He decided to attack quite early, but I was more than happy to control the situation behind him.”

While Del Toro heads home with a podium place, Christen does not, but the Swiss rider also made a huge impression. On Monte Sante Marie in particular, he lit up the race by smashing the peloton to pieces. “It was a great day. I had good legs on Sante Marie and I did the perfect job for Tadej. With Isaac also on the podium, it’s a very good day for us.”

“I would love to win here myself one day,” Christen continued. “Because this is my favourite race of the year. I was already close today, so with this strong team, I’m really looking forward to the future.”