"Carapaz pushed him to the limit and almost gave in" - Matxín explains Del Toro's Giro defeat

The Giro d'Italia is coming to an end and we already have a winner. Against all odds, Simon Yates has pulled off a surprise and defeated Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz, who were the two strongest men in the race. If you did not watch the race, make sure you watch the highlights. This is likely one of the best days of cycling you will see!

Speaking to El Maillot, Joxean Matxín talked about the day and the feelings he has for his rider who has seen victory slip from his grasp.

"Well, a climb in which the marking of Carapaz and Isaac has marked, honestly, well, so many attacks and so much braking. And the truth is that in the end, well, Isaac was not going to do much more and in the end, well, here in the final part he felt a little better but it was too late.

"A 21-year-old rider, experience, learning? Losing a Giro d'Italia is hard, it happened to us the opposite of what happened to us in 2020, so we know the circumstances that are for better and for worse, and well, at 21 years old I think that right now he has everything to go," said the UAE Team Emirates - XRG sports director.

He went on to explain why Del Toro decided not to follow Simon Yates' attack in Finestre, "He said on the podium that there was a moment that if Carapaz hadn't stopped there he would have given up, that he was at the limit, that he was taking him to the limit and that he was trying to, well, close those attacks more progressively, but well, that he took him out of the point and that in the end, well, those stops were good for him.

"But well, these are the feelings that a rider has at the moment and the only thing you can do is support him, love him, defend him, in the moments, above all, well, complicated, which is to lose a Giro d'Italia".

Asked about the absence of his men in the breakaway, he replied, "We have done it practically every day. We understood that today, we had to set, a sustained pace.

"EF made the first kilometers explosive, we managed to be with Derek Gee, with the best, both with Adam and Brandon, and with Rafa. But the moment that the race exploded it was practically a one-on-one of the three best riders who have been in this Giro d'Italia and that was the course of the race".

Finally, he spoke about Isaac del Toro's feelings after losing the Giro d'Italia on the final day: "Yes, it's clear that when you have a pink jersey so close to you, you will be disappointed. When you're so close to a pink jersey, the white jersey is not enough".