CyclingUpToDate Podcast: "It's disrespectful to both the breakaway and the GC riders around them to simply try and nurse Isaac Del Toro" - Did Pogacar and UAE get their Tour tactics right?
CyclingMonday, 27 July 2026 at 15:30
On this Monday's episode of the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn discussed UAE Team Emirates - XRG's tactics in the final stages of the Tour de France and the role of Isaac del Toro spurred a big debate - was their 2026 Tour strategy a positive for the Mexican?
The debate stirred from Saturday's stage 20 that saw Tadej Pogacar, already virtually secured in yellow, ride in service of Del Toro to seal his podium spot and yellow jersey.
In the final kilometers of the stage, Del Toro's lead had increased, yet Pogacar seemed to choose not to pursue Remco Evenepoel's attack or chase the breakaway, despite the Mexican's nearest challenger Paul Seixas over one minute behind on the road.
Tadej Pogacar helps Isaac del Toro manage stage 20
For Gavin Quinn, the seemingly tactical move to keep the pair together bordered on disrespect to their opponents and the breakaway riders, arguing that nothing was gained and would not have been lost had Pogacar threw caution to the wind in the finale.
"If I was to be as harsh or as cynical as possible, I think it's disrespectful to both the breakaway and the GC riders around them to simply try and nurse Isaac Del Toro for no gains in GC, no losses in GC, just a neutral finish," he said.
"I think it's, like we've said, Tadej Pogacar is ruthless and goes for records, goes for wins. I would prefer that than to hold back - and very blatantly hold back - and I guess allow others to get victory. Now that's not to say that Carapaz would have been beaten. I think Carapaz had plenty in him as well to contest if Pogacar comes from behind. But yeah, I wasn't a fan of it, to be blunt."
Rúben Silva argued that working for del Toro provided more motivation for Pogacar, arguing that it was a major factor in the Slovenian's three weeks and fifth yellow win.
"Yeah, it's, I think Pogacar at this point of his career is, he looks for new sources of motivation and of staying up there and remaining happy," Rúben argued.
"And, throughout the whole tour, it's not exclusive to this tour of course, you get the sense that Pogacar really likes Del Toro. He likes it... it's his source of happiness within cycling right now, because he's won almost everything that there is to win."
Isaac del Toro's 2026 Tour de France
The conversation unlocked a wider debate around del Toro's wider Tour de France, winning one stage and rarely put to work for Pogacar, Rúben sees the Tour as something of a free pass for him.
"Del Toro just got a free ride the whole tour, and it wasn't even just a free ride. He got his own domestique by Pogacar voluntarily, and wholeheartedly wanted to work for Del Toro, wanted to help him achieve his goals. That's the central point of this tour, really. Del Toro won a stage, finished on the podium, got the white jersey."
"And then there were several stages where he sort of delayed his attack, because according to himself, Del Toro was not feeling so good. UAE just, well, it wasn't really a play with the competition, but Progacer is the boss of UAE."
For Gavin Quinn, it's on paper a dream Tour for the Emirati squad and a second half of the race plagued by injuries and illness, they maximised their impact and delivered.
"On paper, it's the dream tour for UAE. First, third, white jersey. With all the illness and injuries and everything that hit them in the second to third week, I think UAE rode an incredible race, even to keep the final queen stage quite close through all of this. They rode excellently."
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Rúben Silva noted del Toro's improvement from the 2025 Giro d'Italia, where he finished in third place, pointing to consistency and a deserved podium. However, it's the topic of pressure that sparks a big debate.
"When it comes to Del Toro, there was also debate on whether he's a great climber able to handle the Tour de France, I wasn't ever part of that argument much, I mean he finished second at the Giro last year, he was very strong on the Colle delle Finnestre which was one of the hardest climbs you could find in pro cycling, one hour long, he was good.
Ruben added: "Del Toro was consistent, had the support of UAE, resisted the pressure well, his podium is deserved really. Really good ride."
Gavin Quinn questioned: "What pressure though? We've just talked about how Tadej Pogacar and UAE kind of walked him through the race in a way, like there was zero point in which Isaac Del Toro had to do any work for Tadej Pogacar - any of this UAE super domestic work that we've seen Jaoa Almeida for example do.
"I don't think Isaac Del Toro learns an awful lot or gains a lot from this except for a third place on his Palmares, I don't know. I don't see it as an overall huge net positive, of course it's a positive to finish third place but I don't see it as an overwhelming huge step forward for Isaac except for maybe his stage two win I believe right?
"Which was an excellent [uphill] sprint kind of finish but other than that, I don't think many riders benefit from having their hand held through a whole Grand Tour."
Beyond the result alone, Gavin Quinn doesn't see the lessons learned to help del Toro take next step to win a Grand Tour: "You don't benefit anything in terms of winning a Grand Tour, you benefit from having a high GC placing but I don't think it taught him how to win a Grand Tour necessarily because he doesn't have Pogacar to help him do so in the next one if he goes to the Giro again or if he goes to the Vuelta."
Rúben Silva thinks it was all part of the UAE plan and that he will benefit from the exposure to the world's biggest race.
Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro at the 2026 Tour de France
UAE plan to introduce del Toro to Tour de France
He said: "I think playing at Devil's advocate, what they wanted was to get Del Toro used to the Tour because the Tour is a different beast when comparing to the Grand Tours when it comes to media pressure.
"It's like the team is like warming up Del Toro to be like in the big league, like even more than what he's been, he's led the Giro of course but they were like, you know, we want him to get used to, forgive my term but almost like the s**t-show that the Tour can be sometimes.
"You're right in the sense that there wasn't really any big step up or any big difference that was made, it was just confirming the level that he pretty much had already confirmed before. Still, at the white jersey level in terms of what he's produced maybe, like what he can produce over three weeks, it's definitely stronger than his Giro d'Italia last season."
Acknowledging that perhaps his assessment is not a criticism of del Toro, Gavin Quinn reiterates that UAE will view the Tour as a success but he still questions whether there could have been further benefits for del Toro.
He said: "I'm also trying to play devil's advocate, I don't believe that it's a bad thing for Isaac Del Toro, I'm just saying like it maybe could have been more effective if you let Isaac fight for himself.
"I just think he learns an awful lot or he put in some of his best performances without a yellow jersey looking after him and I think you learn a lot more when you're fighting amongst GC guys and you don't have the luxury of Tadej Pogacar to rely upon.
"From a UAE point of view and I think how do I make Isaac Del Toro win a grand tour in 2027? I get him a third place in the tour, I get him in on the white jersey, so he's doing all the press conferences, he's doing all the extra media attention, all the s**t-show as you say, it's a blunt way to put it but it's true, so yeah. From a UAE point of view, I think they've rode the perfect race for Isaac Del Toro.
"It's just me maybe questioning or thinking of the realism in terms of if his back is going to be against the wall without Pogacar, there's lessons he could have learned maybe going forward."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- I would take quality over quantity any day. Tadej's winning percentage would be more than Eddy's. Tadej does not need to race more as he's paid handsomely unlike Eddy who had to keep racing to make a living.
PogiFan2Day27-07-2026 - Julian Alaphilippe is past his prime. I don't think anyone was expecting much from him and therefore omitted from the list.PogiFan2Day27-07-2026
- To even it out for France, why not include Julian Alaphillipe in the disappointment list? Everytime he tried a move, it never went through... sad to see, he was such a crowd favourite but this year he never managed to show it!Lobz7727-07-2026
- Anybody?Cyclingsbestfan27-07-2026
- I suppose the money for the win would be nice. Being gifted the stage though is nothing to be proud of in my opinion. If Del Toro was on his knees at times. If he had not been nursed by Pogacar and left to do his own race, Seixas would have won the white jersey.Cyclingsbestfan27-07-2026
- I think you got one out of eight right.Cyclingsbestfan27-07-2026
- He won the Tour 7 consecutive times. And people like you have made it your life's purpose to cry about it ever since. Not that you had anything else you were going to accomplish, so keep at it.
MarkFour27-07-2026 - don’t think i’ve ever seen anyone who can empty the tank so completely as van der poel. wout himself said this about mvdp after losing a savage cx in namur years ago: “i have the ability to ride a very strong final too, but it’s always been a great quality of mathieu that he can ride far beyond his limit…”OCexile27-07-2026
- Curious, because I didn't see anything about it. But was Paul Sexias' team (Decathlon) penalized for him skipping every pre and post race interview?moy2827-07-2026
- Indeed the bestcaptmike27-07-2026
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