It was bound to happen: 2025 sensation Isaac Del Toro will quickly receive great news from UAE Emirates-XRG

Victory number fourteen, then, on Saturday in the Giro dell'Emilia, on the famous wall of San Luca. Around the corner from Del Toro, who lives in the state of San Marino and therefore knew what to expect. “It was a strong group in the final, with almost everyone there. That made it tough, because you had no idea who had a chance of winning.”

When Tom Pidcock attacked on the San Luca and no one responded, it seemed as though the Brit from Q36.5 was going to win. However, Del Toro stormed past him. “It was very nice. I have to thank the team again, because I almost gave up in the last laps. Somehow, I had one more effort left in my legs, which allowed me to win after all,” the Mexican said afterward.

The last week of racing of the year was also successful for Del Toro, just like the whole year. In the spring, he primarily served as a domestique for Tadej Pogacar and Juan Ayuso in all races, but in the Giro, that changed. After winning Milan-Turin, Del Toro took the pink jersey on day 9 of the Giro on the Tuscan roads and only lost it to Simon Yates on the penultimate day.

The fact that he lost the Tour of Italy due to a tactical mistake against Richard Carapaz did not affect the rest of his season whatsoever. On the contrary, Del Toro had clearly found his groove. He started winning more and more: four times in the Tour of Austria, two Spanish one-day races, overall victory in Burgos, and no fewer than four victories in the Italian autumn.

At the World Championships in Rwanda, Del Toro also proved his potential against the world's best riders. He followed Pogacar, but stomach problems threw him back to seventh place in the results. He had already impressed with fifth place in the time trial. Once back in Europe, he immediately added another victory in Emilia.

UAE Emirates-XRG has seen enough, according to cycling journalist Daniel Benson, who reported this weekend. Del Toro already has a contract with his team until the end of 2029, but that will normally be reopened soon. Pogacar currently has a contract until the end of 2030, but UAE still has three riders signed until then: Jan Christen, Adrià Pericas, and Pablo Torres. Will Del Toro follow soon?