Pogacar agreed to UAE Emirates-XRG's wild Lombardy plan involving Isaac Del Toro: "Then it could have been possible"

Del Toro ultimately finished fifth in the Tour of Lombardy, sprinting fastest from a group of four. However, the climber ended up in that group because he was unable to follow the four ahead of him on the Passo di Ganda and in the descent that followed. Del Toro's group finished 4.16 minutes behind the winner, Pogacar. A respectable distance, then. .

UAE would have liked to see things turn out differently, given that Pogacar was not the only leader in the race, according to his own words. “It was Isaac's first Monument, and we all know about his performance in recent races. We gave him a chance today by protecting him, too,” said the world champion afterward in the mixed zone.

That was the reason UAE Emirates-XRG took the lead with Domen Novak, Pavel Sivakov, Rafal Majka, and Jay Vine, but Del Toro was in Pogacar's wheel the whole time. When asked if he was riding with his big leader, as he did at the World Championships in Rwanda, the answer was quickly no. For a moment, it seemed like a luxury, but Del Toro eventually dropped behind Remco Evenepoel and Michael Storer on the Passo di Ganda.

“We told him that he could stay with the others if I attacked. And if he were able to follow, then that would have been possible,” Pogacar said when asked. But that scenario did not materialize, so the question of whether Il Lombardia might have been given away at the finish line was irrelevant. “But Isaac did a fantastic job today and has a bright future ahead of him.”