Knetemann sees Del Toro, not Seixas, as Pogačar's successor: 'What a head that guy has'

What a Tour de France it has been for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The team won six stages and the yellow jersey, but also takes home third place in the general classification thanks to Isaac Del Toro, who beat Paul Seixas in the battle for the white jersey. These are two top talents poised to become the absolute best: Roxane Knetemann takes a closer look at the two rivals.

Seixas had a phenomenal year, highlighted by victories in the Tour of the Basque Country and the Flèche Wallonne. Thanks to his performances, he was ultimately included in the Decathlon CMA CGM Tour de France roster. There was some skepticism: should such a young rider really be taken on the Tour? With his fourth-place finish in the general classification, he proved it was a good choice.

"I went into it with such an open mind when it came to him," Knetemann says in her podcast In het Wiel. “I was so curious to see what he’d be like in three weeks. So he’s showing that he doesn’t have an ‘off day’ anywhere—he hasn’t had a bad day. He actually got through those three weeks pretty relaxed. He was a little stressed in Barcelona, but you could see him grow during the Tour.”

At nineteen, he is the youngest rider in the Tour since 1937, but despite his outstanding performance, Knetemann remains somewhat cautious about his future. “I’m really curious to see if this guy is going to bring to cycling what we all expect. Because, really, we don’t know anything yet, except that he rode this Tour very well.”

According to Gerrie Knetemann’s daughter, Isaac Del Toro deserves even more praise. “We were really curious to see how he’d do in this Tour, and he’s truly surprised me in such a positive way time and time again. What a fighter this guy is! And what a calm demeanor he has, too. Even though he’s definitely a Latino. He’s very calm, except when he goes on the attack—that’s when we really see his temperament.'

Del Toro came very close to winning the Giro d'Italia last year, after which his star really began to rise. He won no fewer than eighteen professional races in 2025 and made his debut in the Tour de France after claiming victory in the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes. His third-place finish and white jersey may not come as a surprise, but Knetemann is nonetheless completely blown away by Torito.

He immediately won the first stage in Barcelona, after which he also helped Pogacar secure the yellow jersey. “To me, he’s the man of the Tour,” said the analyst. She predicts that he’ll only get better in the coming years. “He’s shown that he’s the one who’s going to take over from Pogacar, before Seixas does. It’s really impressive what he’s shown here.”

In the final stage, Pogacar decided to turn the tables: the yellow jersey wearer took the lead on the Col du Galibier and did the same on the Col de Sarenna. In the final kilometers, he pulled the young Mexican up the climb, and they crossed the finish line together. It was a beautiful scene, but Knetemann also had some reservations about Pogacar’s assistance.

"It can also put a lot of pressure on you, right? On the one hand, you can learn a lot from the master, and you can become the beautiful swan in his shadow," she explains. “But in the race that Evenepoel won, we already mentioned that it does put pressure on you to have this guy leading the way in front of you. The fact that he can handle that says something about just how incredibly special this guy is.”