"He could become even bigger than Tadej" - Antonio Tiberi compares Isaac del Toro to World Champion Pogacar

The UAE Tour saw Antonio Tiberi and Isaac del Toro fight for the overall win, a battle that was ultimately won by the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider. Tiberi had his very best legs on the two key mountain stages but it was not enough to hold back the Mexican, whom he compared to Tadej Pogacar.

The Bahrain - Victorious rider was close to a breakthrough win in his career, but had to settle for second in the day. “I would definitely have signed for second place in the general classification beforehand," he admitted in a post-race interview however.

"I’ve already celebrated this second place with a lot of people this morning. With my family, with the team… Because yes, finishing second here and also taking a stage win is great. Especially at the start of the season. These are really beautiful results for me.”

Tiberi put on quite an exhibition at Jebel Mobrah, perhaps the best climbing performance of his career as he went solo off the front in the ultra-steep climb and took over the race lead after two equally strong opening days.

At Jebel Hafeet, he could only hold on to that second place, but he does not lament it. “This final result, together with a stage win, is great, especially at the start of the season. If I can continue like this, I can be ambitious for the rest of the year.”

On Jebel Hafeet he managed to follow Del Toro's first attack; but when the youngster made his second move, Tiberi went beyond his limit, and completely exploded on the climb. It was a risk he was willing to take, but there seemed to be nothing that could be done against Del Toro on that level.

“Isaac is a great champion, just like Tadej. He could become even bigger than Tadej," Tiberi stated. "We all saw what he did last year at the Giro d’Italia, which he almost won. He’s still super young and a real champion, so chapeau to him.”