“A dangerous duo” - Isaac del Toro tipped as closest rider to Pogacar and Vingegaard in resounding UAE Tour de France verdict

Isaac del Toro’s place in UAE Team Emirates - XRG’s 2026 Tour de France squad has drawn a major verdict in Denmark, with Christian Moberg claiming the Mexican could form a “dangerous duo” with Tadej Pogacar in July.

Pogacar will be supported at the 2026 Tour by Del Toro, Adam Yates, Brandon McNulty, Felix Grossschartner, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens and Nils Politt. The strong selection gives UAE clear and capable climbing depth, flat-road power, classics strength and options for the opening team time trial in Barcelona.

For Danish ex-pro and current ColoQuick sports director Moberg, the eight-man lineup shows exactly why UAE will arrive at the Tour with the strongest squad in the race.

“UAE’s Tour team is the embodiment of UAE,” Moberg said in his analysis for TV2 Denmark. “They have the money to have the strongest and best team, and it is extremely strong. There are riders for the different terrains.”

Del Toro is the rider who gives Moberg’s verdict its sharpest edge. The 22-year-old came close to winning the Giro d’Italia in 2025 before finishing second overall, then continued his rise this season by winning the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes earlier this month.

“And then Del Toro is in this year,” Moberg said. “Together with Pogacar, he is going to form a dangerous duo, because he is perhaps the rider who is closest to Pogacar and Vingegaard.”

That is a very different assessment from treating Del Toro as another name in Pogacar’s support unit. UAE already have Adam Yates, McNulty, Wellens, Politt, Grossschartner and Vermeersch around their leader, but Del Toro arrives with Grand Tour credibility of his own after the Giro and a fresh 2026 stage-race win in France.

If Visma want to put Pogacar under pressure in the mountains, Del Toro gives UAE a second rider who cannot simply be allowed to ride away. The Mexican’s presence could force rivals to chase earlier, hold back domestiques for longer, or hesitate before committing everything to Pogacar himself.

Moberg did not present UAE as flawless. The Tour starts with a team time trial in Barcelona, and that is the one area where he sees a possible question. “The question is the team time trial... whether they are strong enough there,” said Moberg. “But there I think Pogacar can pull them up at the end if they are a little behind.”

With McNulty, Wellens, Politt, Vermeersch and Grossschartner in the eight, UAE still have plenty of power for the opening stage. After that, the race quickly becomes about whether any team can match the mountain weight around Pogacar. “So across the board, it is the strongest team at the Tour,” Moberg concluded.

UAE’s official announcement confirmed the eight names. Moberg’s verdict turns the focus towards what those names give Pogacar: not just protection, but Del Toro as another rider capable of changing the race before the defending champion has to make his own move.