Isaac del Toro hits back at Pidcock's criticism: 'All the other teams remained passive'

Del Toro made plenty of strong attacks, but never managed to break away. He had to settle for fifth place at the finish. “For me, nothing mattered but the rainbow jersey,” he told ESPN after the finish. “That’s what we came here for; that was our only mindset. We knew we didn’t have the team, but that wasn’t because we lacked the will or the willingness to give it our all.”

Del Toro was alone in the final, but he did have McNulty with him, his American teammate at UAE. When McNulty attacked, the Mexican stayed put. Pidcock later criticized that decision. “Del Toro was clearly riding in support of McNulty at the very end", the Brit said, not mincing words. But Del Toro maintains his innocence.

He emphasised once again that he and his Mexican team had come to Montreal with only one goal in mind. “I think it was clear that we came here to win. I don’t hold back until the finish. We tried everything, and maybe I should have positioned myself better for the sprint,” said the young climber, offering his only point of criticism.

So Pidcock’s criticism falls on deaf ears. In fact, Del Toro turns the argument on its head. According to him, it was the other countries that didn’t do enough to take responsibility. “All the other teams remained passive and tried to take advantage of us. We knew we didn’t have the strongest team, but I think it was clear that we wanted to win.”

With Tadej Pogačar out of the race, Del Toro knew this was a golden opportunity. “We knew we could win, but it’s a shame it didn’t work out. We had a crucial opportunity, and I’m satisfied with how the race went. We didn’t win, but we did take another step forward in our ambitions and in the mindset we have for these kinds of races.”

Finally, Del Toro expressed his joy for McNulty, who pulled off a huge upset in Canada by winning the world title. “I’m happy for Brandon; he deserves this success, but we wanted to win. He’s worked hard for this and even worked for me a few times—he deserves the best. I know him well, and I’m happy for him, but I wanted Mexico to win.”