Isaac Del Toro must get 'every chance to break through' at the Tour de France says UAE boss

We won't see the Tour de France protagonists in action again until the start in Barcelona. Tadej Pogačar topped up his confidence in Switzerland, while before that Isaac Del Toro won the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. UAE Team Emirates-XRG are ready for the Tour de France, then — at least, that is what we can gather from the comments of team manager Joxean Fernández Matxin.

First, though, the rivals for the Tour, because young Paul Seixas will line up at the start this year too. The French top talent of Decathlon CMA CGM has never ridden a Grand Tour. "But when you produce a performance like that, you don't even need to fear a three-week race. I rate him at the same level as Jonas Vingegaard and what the Dane showed at the Giro. We really mustn't underestimate anyone," Matxin said admiringly to Bici.

The Spaniard had just mentioned Vingegaard, who won the Giro d'Italia in the build-up to the Tour de France. Pogačar did the same back in 2024 and then went on to win the Tour de France as well. The best approach? "I don't think there's a better way, in the sense that if you want to ride or take on a Giro d'Italia, you adapt the rest of your calendar to it."

But, as Matxin notes: "It all depends on how you structure your preparation for the season's flagship event." For Pogačar, that meant the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse. He won both races (by a wide margin). And the world champion was not the only UAE rider to impress this year.

Del Toro did exactly that. The Mexican recently won the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. "I think we sent out a good message, showing that Del Toro is in good shape for the Tour," Matxin said of that. "What I liked most of all was that he never let himself be discouraged and never lost sight of the final goal."

While in France, Del Toro himself firmly rejected the idea of a shadow-leader role at the Tour de France, but Matxin is keeping the options (for the future) open. "His talent allows him to aim for anything. I've never liked the word 'leader', even though it's clear that a top team needs a hierarchy."

In the future, according to the team boss, opportunities await the Mexican, who could also take on an important role even sooner. "What matters to me is that Isaac has every chance to emerge, which means we can approach the Tour with a plan B in our pocket. He knows he's capable of winning a Grand Tour — and that's what counts," Matxin said.