'Perfectionist' Pogačar takes Del Toro under his wing, but UAE says there are limits: 'The experts are the experts'
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 16:34
Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google
Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.
Follow us on GoogleUAE Emirates-XRG is undoubtedly the big winner of the first week of the Tour de France. After nine stages, the team is wearing the yellow jersey thanks to Tadej Pogačar, who has also won two stages. However, it was Isaac del Toro’s stage victory on day two that has left the biggest impression on team managers Mauro Gianetti and Joxean Matxin. IDL Pro Cycling caught up with both men on the rest day.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was no secret that Pogačar came into the Tour de France as the heavy favorite. However, it was still a bit surprising that the world champion would dominate the first week to such an extent. In Stage 6 over the Tourmalet, he left all his competitors nearly 3 minutes behind, including Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike.
It immediately explained Pogačar’s generosity on Stage 2, a punchy ride around Barcelona that included three ascents of Montjuïc. After some tremendous hard work by Brandon McNulty, Pogacar looked set to seal the win, but Del Toro was the one who broke away. When his team leader caught up, he let his Mexican teammate take the victory. Both men were overjoyed.
Read also
Continue reading below the photo
Pogacar was very happy for Del Toro and lifted him into the air after Stage 2.
UAE Emirates-XRG celebrated with Del Toro and Pogačar
"I'm very proud, not only of the results, but especially of the second stage up Montjuïc in Barcelona," Gianetti said meaningfully, as we took stock after nine stages of the Tour de France. “That stage showcased everything we stand for as a team: team spirit, dedication, friendship, and dreaming together as a team. It’s not just Isaac and Tadej—the entire team is here to win the Tour.”
In Stage 3, the roles were reversed. Del Toro set up Pogačar on the climb, and Pogacar finished it off. “The fact that Isaac wanted to return the favor for Tadej at the first opportunity he got in Stage 3 said it all. Their level of performance is very high, but as a team, we also invest a lot in the atmosphere within the team and among the staff. We’re friends and we’re all working together toward a single goal this month.”
"We enjoy it together and suffer together. Stage 2 was a perfect example of all this," said Gianetti. Matxin also saw the same bond between his two team leaders. "You saw it at the finish line, on TV, and during the race... It’s amazing. They’re feeling good, there’s a great vibe between the two of them, and they have the utmost respect for each other.”
"Our plan is to win the Tour de France, but if the opportunity arises, we can also go for stage wins with Isaac, as you saw in Barcelona," said the Spaniard, who sets the strategic direction for UAE. “That’s very important for all of us and for the team’s character. Together, they create a great atmosphere.”
Continue reading below the photo
After a lead-out by Del Toro, Pogacar won the third stage.
Pogačar's leadership role has its limits at UAE Emirates-XRG
Matxin sees Pogačar taking his younger teammate Del Toro aside. For example, after Stage 6, when Pogacar told the Mexican on camera that he had actually ridden too hard on the Tourmalet—even for Pogi. If Del Toro had held back a little more, they might have been able to reach the summit together.
"Tadej simply has the experience and is a smart guy. He’s a perfectionist when it comes to tactics and is very good at reading and understanding his opponents," said Matxin about that moment of analysis on the rollers, following the masterstroke in Stage 6. “In that stage, Pogačar was able to read his rival Vingegaard well, which makes sense after a rivalry that has now lasted six years.”
Del Toro is a newcomer in that regard and may have overplayed his hand a bit. However, Pogačar’s feedback had its limits. “In our team, the experts are the experts; they are ultimately responsible for the sporting side of things, and we handle that with the utmost professionalism. Once a meeting is over, Tadej might say something to Isaac, but that would be based on their personal relationship.”
"Tadej will never tell Isaac what to do or not to do; that’s the job of our professionals, our team directors, and staff members," said Matxin, thereby refuting the notion that Pogacar calls all the shots. “But of course, Tadej does talk to Isaac—simply because they’re friends. Sometimes Tadej tells him to stay calm or explains exactly what’s expected.”
Read also
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
IDL-productions
2026 Tour de France stage 10 preview | Can Vingegaard repeat his Le Lioran victory over Pogacar?
Adrie van der Poel delivers the perfect reaction after Mathieu’s Tour de France stage win
Could Tom Pidcock have beaten Mathieu van der Poel with a fully functioning bike at the Tour de France?
Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek explain why Tour de France Stage 9 plan only partly worked
Visma | Lease a Bike rules out Stage 9 attack as Vingegaard safety tactic continues
Latest Cycling News
2026 Tour de France Standings | Mads Pedersen strengthens green jersey lead
2026 Tour de France stage 10 preview | Can Vingegaard repeat his Le Lioran victory over Pogacar?
How closely did you follow week one of the Tour de France? Take the IDL Pro Cycling rest day quiz!
Tour de France hotels on a rest day: Air conditioning fails Pogacar; Uno-X rider goes viral with footage of his room
Lance Armstrong: 'Tadej Pogačar knows damn well what the real Tour de France record is'
Popular Cycling News
2026 Tour de France fines & penalties | Adam Yates gets a slap on the wrist before the rest day
2026 Tour de France Standings | Mads Pedersen strengthens green jersey lead
Tour de France Route 2026 | This is what's scheduled for the Tour de France after the rest day
2026 Tour de France stage 10 preview | Can Vingegaard repeat his Le Lioran victory over Pogacar?
Mathieu van der Poel storms to phenomenal stage victory in fiercely contested transition stage of the Tour de France
Latest Comments
- Movistar should be concerned with returing to a meaningful status, instead of criticizing their betters. Not to mention the fact, that for a critical stretch of the stage, it was NetZero, not UAE pushing the pace. BTW, I haven't heard any criticism coming from MVP.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- No teammates on the Tourmalet. Too fast up the Tourmalet.
merganzer10-07-2026 - Reef is whistling past the graveyard by denying what was plain to see: Tadej crushed Jonas, beating him in the ascent and, even more decisively on the descent, where most of the gap was created. In the world of reality, rather than the fantsay that Reef related, Jonas will not become a better descender between now and Paris, and Tadej won't get less adept at the skill. Moreover, it wasn't only about the mano y mono, between the two Tour leaders, but the unraveling of Visma, and the dominance of UAE, especially IDT. Barring injury or some other anomalous occurrence, we'll look back at Tadej's win on stage six as the day he won the 2026 TDF.rjb10-07-2026
- Remco continues alternating between Dr. Jekyl and, as he did today post-race, Mr. Hyde, lashing out as others for not racing according to his preferences. This isn't the first time he's complained about opponents' tactics, but it's the first time I've heard him do it to a teammate, and that lack of discretion and team loyalty may come back to haunt him. I though he'd outgrown these childish pouts; obviously, I was mistaken.rjb10-07-2026
Loading