Isaac del Toro has mixed feelings about his first Tour de France debut: 'Actually, pretty nervous, too’

At the A.S.O.’s so-called Top Riders Press Conference, the stars from each team were featured. That meant Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen from Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro from UAE Emirates-XRG. They are the number one and number three favorites on the bookmakers’ lists.

Right at the start of the press conference, Pogacar mentioned that Del Toro, too, might just win the Tour. You shouldn’t bring that up right away with the shy Mexican. The first Spanish-language question was still on the cautious side: What is your personal goal, and are you secretly keeping for the young riders’ classification as well?

"No, to be honest, I'm just trying to focus on the here and now, on this Tour. I want to enjoy this as much as possible and really take these three weeks in. Sometimes it feels surreal to realize what we’re celebrating here and everything that’s happening around us,” said the winner of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

"So yes, I'm genuinely very happy. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to learn and to race alongside my teammates who are here at the start. I'm just really looking forward to it—it's truly a dream come true, something really wonderful. "The fact that I’m at the start of the Tour, on the best team in the world, and that I get to try to help Tadej...," he says, letting it sink in for a moment.

"It's just incredibly beautiful; I feel truly privileged. It’s something I still sometimes find hard to believe, given the steps I’ve taken over the past few years. I feel truly privileged and very happy. I can’t wait for it to start, and I just want to give it my all during these three weeks.”

How does Del Toro view his first Tour de France? “To be honest, I’m expecting a very tough and grueling race. It wouldn’t surprise me if we go through a lot over these three weeks. Tactically speaking, every day will be crucial. But I’m definitely very excited to experience the sport this way. This is something I’ve been hoping for ever since I first got on a bike.”

"I'm super excited—actually, pretty nervous, too—but that's part of it when your dreams come true. I’m just really happy to be here,” Del Toro concluded, before the final round of questions turned to Pogacar. The last one, from us, was: What do you wish for Isaac over the next three weeks? “That he wins the Tour,” Pogacar replied cheerfully.