“Del Toro has some explaining to do” - Trouble in UAE Team Emirates paradise as Del Toro shines whilst Ayuso struggles
CyclingTuesday, 20 May 2025 at 15:48
Stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia delivered the most dramatic and
captivating action of the race so far, as the peloton tackled the iconic gravel
roads of Tuscany. Featuring several Strade Bianche sectors and a stunning
finish in Siena’s historic Piazza del Campo, the stage lived up to its billing,
and then some.
Wout van Aert emerged victorious at the end of a chaotic
day, claiming the stage win ahead of young Isaac del Toro, who arguably
produced the most impressive ride. Del Toro lit up the gravel and climbs but
ultimately finished second, a result that nonetheless saw him take over the
maglia rosa. Del Toro led for much of the final part of the race, but just
lacked the explosivity of Wout van Aert.
However, the sight of Del Toro in pink may cause tension
within UAE Team Emirates – XRG. Juan Ayuso, previously the team’s best-placed
rider, lost time on the final climb to Siena. With Tadej Pogacar not riding the
Giro, leadership dynamics inside the team now seem increasingly uncertain.
Eurosport analyst Bobbie Traksel questioned Del Toro’s
approach, suggesting he rode with one eye on pink rather than committing fully
to the stage win.
“Del Toro has some explaining to do. He can do this to win a
stage, but then not win and still get pink... I didn't have the feeling that he
was happy, but then he should have raced differently. Ride all the climbs at
full speed and take it easy the rest of the time, but he was secretly still
busy with that pink,” said Traksel. “He could also have let the rest come back
a minute, and then win the stage.”
Ayuso's GC rival Primoz Roglic crashed on stage 9
“He won the Tour de l'Avenir. He is an enormous talent who
was brought in for a lot of money, but that means nothing in three weeks. It
can happen, but it could just as well not happen.”
Fellow analyst Thijs Zonneveld agreed, pointing to a key
mistake made by Del Toro near the end, and believes he was disappointed with
second.
“Not at all, he had a very stern face. But in the run-up to
the finish in Siena he makes a mistake. If you want to win the stage, you
should not continue with Van Aert on your wheel,” Zonneveld observed.
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More broadly, Zonneveld believes the team’s leadership
structure appears increasingly fragile without Pogacar to anchor it. This is
not the first time this week analysts have questioned UAE without the world
champion.
“Pogacar rides a lot of important races. If he is not there,
then there is a battle who is the leader. Ayuso also has in his contract that
he can ride a grand tour without Pogacar. Then there is also so much pressure.
And at the same time Del Toro still thinks: yes, hello, I am in this position,
I will also take my chance.”
“I hope they don't manage it, because that's fun for the
viewers. Ayuso attacking Del Toro later? I see it happening more often than
not. They have to manage to create a ranking. They have to talk about who will
sacrifice themselves first. They have good domestiques, but Arrieta also went
for a ride yesterday and McNulty and Adam Yates are also in the top 10.”
It wasn’t just team politics and tactics on show, the brutal
terrain also caused chaos in the peloton. Both Tom Pidcock and Primoz Roglic
crashed during the stage, a reminder of just how unpredictable gravel racing
can be. But while Van Aert got the glory and Del Toro took the jersey, the
story of Stage 9 may only just be beginning, with more fireworks likely still
to come, both on and off the road.
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- If he can match his form of the 2023 Tour he will have a chance, the problem is he's 28 now and Tadej will always be two years his junior. Jonas will come strong though for sure.awp04-06-2025
- Can't take to Ayuso despite him being my Giro tip. There's just something I can't pinpoint about the way he rides or his demeanour or his work rate for the team that I don't get. The perception on marginalisation is possible but how much is of his own doing. If he's not content he should waive his big contract and find some peace somewhere elseslappers6604-06-2025
- MR - I'm not taking issue with the details just the overall factors involved 👍
leedorney04-06-2025 - He certainly likes to be numero unos - verbally 😁leedorney04-06-2025
- The problem with Ayuso is he shouts for leadership yet the only thing performing is his mouth...leedorney04-06-2025
- Why do either of them have to "prove" anything?? We know Tadej will retire as the GOAT but Remco and Jonas have their chances too. I don't see either dethroning Tadej, he'll come into the next few weeks as ready as he'll ever be to win the Tour, it'll take something mind blowing or illegal to beat him.slappers6604-06-2025
- He'll need to be better than that because Pogacar is going to turn up at the tour without the Giro in his legs...slappers6604-06-2025
- Yeah TVL is more than ready for the Tour de France against the great Pogi but the big question is UAE has more stronger and matured now GC João Almeida.
James2631804-06-2025 - Dekker, if you want the job of commentator, at least follow Tadej. Every time Ayuso wins, Tadej like him and post congratulations. It never happens reciprocally, never Ayuso posts congratulations to his team-mates. There are people who like to play alone (it's not marginalization).
maria2024202404-06-2025 - Maybe if you see the results Pog has under his belt is the reason he makes decisions within the team. You can always make comments after the race or incident has occured. Hindsight fantastic. I feel the comments are sour grapes by Dekker crap rider when a pro and now sitting in the chair complaining. Would not even mind if it was good journalism even .move on nothing to see here old news.paultryan200204-06-2025
Unless the difference in the TT is very different, they should protect both until after the next big summit finish. Then make a decision.
Media pundits trying to make a bigger story out of it than it is.
Great ride by Del Toro but let's not get carried away. He didn't ride away from Ayuso. Ayuso crashed and in the heat of the dust and the chaos he found himself up ahead so he made the most of the situation. Don't buy the argument he shouldn't have pushed for pink if he wanted to win the stage. He could have backed off and not ridden with WvA but then he might have ended up without pink, without any guarantee WvA wouldn't have out sprinted him for the stage. He rode well and very strongly through a very chaotic stage and came away with a pink jersey to show for it.
As for the overall GC that's a whole other story and as others have said may already look very different after tomorrow's TT. For me, still feel Del Toro has a lot to prove in terms of consistency in the mountains to be a real GC contender over the three weeks ....TBC
Voice of reason. Del Toro did nothing wrong and UAE is sitting very pretty.
Truth be told, if Carapaz doesn't lose four minutes tomorrow he will be the guy that UAE needs to worry about. He's looking better and better.
Let's all just calm down until after the TT tomorrow...
If one of them have a bad day, then that's the leadership question solved...
If not, then Ayuso will have to explain why IDT needs to work for him when he would not do the same for the world champ last year...
Del Toro got Pink, whats the problem, Ayuso was riding retrograde... #simpleas 👍
As I said, the cat’s away. UAE are not a team, they’re a collective of well paid talent that are hard to beat, the Real Madrid of cycling, but, with that come unmanageable egos and unlike in football (except Ronaldo) individual gials still top team performance so what do you expect. He’s just advancing his transfer pawns because the day will come when everyone at UAE realises the place isn’t big enough for all of them.
They (Ayuso excluded) do perform as a team when Tadej is there
They have no other option when Tadej is racing, but when he's not, it's a free for all.
This is true.
As if any of them would beat him ;-), they wouldn’t even try.
Ah, here's the trick, one may not be able to beat Tadej, but still harbour the hope for GC podium. So, don't pull so hard. Let others do the work, then one can save energy and try to follow when Tadej attacks to limit the time loss.