"At 7 years old he was already a great talent" - Isaac del Toro's youth coach convinced he can win the Giro
Cycling
Isaac Del Toro took the maglia rosa on stage 9, and hasn't relinquished it for a single day since. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider has a legendary victory within a hand's reach. We all by might be shocked by such a turn of events, but not the director of his first team who oversaw the Mexican's rise since the age of 7.
Esteban Cruz, head of Mexico's Baja California team, made a statement published by Sporza in which he talked about the explosion and quality of Isaac del Toro: "If I realized right away that he was a great talent? Of course I did. We accompany young cyclists so they can participate in more national races. Del Toro was one of them and he also won national titles," he said.
"He's a versatile rider, but he's always been very focused. At one of the national championships, a lot of people asked me who that focused kid was, and it was Del Toro. And he won there, too," Cruz added.
Isaac del Toro is 3 stages away from winning the Giro d'Italia
Will he win the Giro d'Italia?
One question could not be evaded: does Cruz believe in Isaac del Toro's overall victory at the Giro d'Italia? In his answer he seemed very convinced:
"He has a good chance. Although the next few days will be difficult with Carapaz. But Del Toro knows how to defend himself. He knows what he has to do in difficult circumstances and he also knows how to adapt to race situations. It's going to be fun. But he's going to win the Giro," he concluded resolutely.
Before the last two mountain stages, Isaac del Toro has 41 seconds advantage over Richard Carapaz and 51 over third Simon Yates. His two pursuers are sure to use every tool in their disposal to steal the pink jersey from young Mexican's shoulder.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
- Every great cyclist has at least two Giro/Tour doubles, and in modern cycling or what we call modern cycling, Miguel Indurain is the only guy to do it twice. I think Tadej should go for it and commit if he is putting up good numbers somewhere around January/February.awp04-11-2026
- the 6th TDF is a more record breaking opportunity than a 2nd Giro. Jonas can double up. For Remco its TDF. For Sexias it will be a good opportunity but as usual TDF will be his main goal For del Toro, yes good opportunityabstractengineer04-11-2026
- Well, this is something which isn't all that common
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - He lives in MonacoRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they goRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- This is a phenomenal course design. I do wish that they'd stretch these tours for the women to at least 2 weeks.RidesHills03-11-2026
- This is an amazing route, honestly. Let's hope that it attracts riders to make it a compelling and competitive race. Side bar amusement: going to Slovenia and passing pretty close to Pogačar's house. I wonder if they were tempting him to get all 3 jerseys at once after winning the Tour and Vuelta. After all, only a very few have ever had all three at the same time (Froome being the last).RidesHills03-11-2026
- He was a child two years agoRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughieRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
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