Losers of the day? That’s not how Isaac del Toro and his UAE teammate saw it after the team time trial

“Why are we doing this?” Isaac del Toro said on Tuesday immediately after the team time trial at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with a big smile on his face. The Mexican rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG crossed the finish line just ahead of Kevin Vermaerke, and the team from the Emirates would ultimately finish ninth, just over a minute behind winners Matteo Jorgenson and Visma | Lease a Bike. The two UAE riders shared their thoughts after the race.

"On the flat, I couldn't even stay on his wheel," Vermaerke told his teammate shortly after the finish. The American would ultimately finish fifteen seconds behind his team leader. At that point, UAE had posted the second-best time. Quite a few teams still managed to beat that time, so Del Toro’s team ended up in ninth place.

"It was a really brutal finish," the Mexican said in an interview with IDL Pro Cycling and other outlets. "We tried to go as fast as possible and give it our all until the finish line." There, Vermaerke provided a great lead-out, instead of just coasting to the finish. "I was happy that I was able to finish faster in the end," Del Toro laughed.

The Mexican may have underestimated the competition, as he lost 1 minute and 1 second to Matteo Jorgenson of Visma | Lease a Bike, for example. “I think I can be happy. It’s my first team time trial as a pro, so I think we did well,” Del Toro said after the race.

The Mexican was, of course, also asked what this day meant for the Tour. “It’s pretty important. We’ll be mentally prepared for that day. So it’s pretty interesting for me to be here. I’m happy with the performance,” repeated the rider who ultimately finished ninth in the stage results, dropping to 16th place in the general classification.

Teammate Vermaerke had similar thoughts. 'I think it went pretty well. We try to keep everyone together, communicate with each other, and make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. I think we did pretty well. There are always one or two things you wish you had done differently in hindsight, but I think we can be happy.'

The American found the final stretch particularly tough. “I don’t know if it was the wind, my legs, or the fact that the guys were going 75 km/h, but it was definitely a tough finish.” In the end, Vermaerke decided to push on to the finish. So is the general classification important after all for the American climber?

"The main goal, of course, is for Isaac to win the overall classification here," he said. But: "After the first two days, I hadn't lost any time. So today, on the final climb, I didn't want to coast—I just wanted to give it everything I had until the finish line, putting in an extra two minutes of effort." That way, I’ve stayed fairly close in the general classification. There are some tough mountain stages coming up, so it makes sense to have someone who can play a few cards in the final stages.”