Why UAE won't let Del Toro take revenge for failed Giro: 'What if he were to finish second?'

After a whirlwind breakthrough year, Isaac Del Toro will be sent to the Tour de France in 2026 by UAE Team Emirates - XRG. The young Mexican will line up alongside Tadej Pogacar, but what exactly will his role be? And why is he not returning to the Giro d'Italia, where he clearly still has unfinished business after this year’s painful defeat?

Del Toro started this year’s Giro as a domestique for Juan Ayuso. After the Spaniard faded from contention - partly due to crashes - the 22-year-old Mexican stepped up without hesitation. He wore the maglia rosa for twelve days and won a stage, before losing the overall lead in spectacular fashion to Simon Yates on the final mountain stage.

His team boss Joxean Fernández Matxín has decided to keep Del Toro out of the Giro this season, a decision that has disappointed many fans. “For me, however, it’s a natural and perfect process,” the Spaniard explained to Bici.Pro. “The Vuelta in the first year, the Giro d’Italia in the second and the Tour de France in the third. That’s the right path, don’t you think? And by the way, I’ve already told you that this is more or less my way of working with young riders.”

Del Toro himself was keen to return to Italy. “Initially, yes. We thought about it and talked it through. The idea was to send both João Almeida and Del Toro to the Giro d’Italia to try and win it. But then other considerations came into play. We’re talking about a 22-year-old Mexican, a country that has enormous enthusiasm for cycling thanks to Isaac, but no great cycling tradition yet. What if he were to finish second?”

“For them, he has to win,” Matxín continues. “We shouldn’t put Del Toro in a situation where he has to do something - and we don’t want that either. He has to enjoy cycling, approach every race with passion and calm. Going to the Tour de France now, together with the best rider in the world and the best team in the world, is an opportunity for us.”

Del Toro will therefore make his Tour de France debut next season. After a year that brought no fewer than 18 victories and second place overall in the Giro, it feels like a logical next step. How the young superstar will perform remains to be seen, but there will be little pressure on his shoulders, as Pogacar remains the undisputed leader for UAE Team Emirates – XRG.

“Pogacar is not only a benchmark for us, but for cycling as a whole,” Matxín explains. “So having Del Toro in the Tour doesn’t mean responsibility, but trust and experience for the future. It’s clear that he won’t just be a domestique. We’re not asking anything of him, except that he’s there. He’s an enormous talent and deserves this opportunity, just as João did before him.”