"He didn’t stay under the radar for very long" - Team Jayco AlUla well aware of Isaac del Toro threat as Tour Down Under reaches pivotal Willunga Hill stage

Friday, 19 January 2024 at 14:30

Although known as a top prospect, not many would have expected 20-year-old Mexican, Isaac del Toro to make such an impact on his first World Tour stage race. With four stages down however, the UAE Team Emirates prodigy leads the Tour Down Under.

“Isaac del Toro is a bit unknown, he’s a neo pro," admitted Team Jayco AlUla sports director, Matt Hayman in conversation with GCN following the conclusion of stage 4. "We came into this Tour Down Under with a few guys on our radar. As a director you’re interested in how these guys are going to make the transition, and he didn’t stay under the radar for very long."

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With a stage 5 showdown on Willunga Hill likely to separate general classification contenders from pretenders, Hayman's Team Jayco AlUla have seen hopes dented by the withdrawal of Australian national champion, Luke Plapp due to injury.

“It’s a massive dent losing Plapp,” Hayman said. “We came into this race with three guys. We saw the form that he and Chris Harper had at the national championships, so we had a really strong team and the ability, so that’s really knocked us. One, it’s an option for a win but also just extra horsepower on those climbs to be able to make a difference, so a big dent."

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“The guys saw him last night, and you could see how much pain he was in. It doesn’t matter how much willpower you have to want to line up, the doctors and myself were just saying it’s not worth it for him. It would have been a token. So I hope he’s doing well,” adds the sports director.

“There’s a lot of racing to be done," he concludes. "In the past we’ve gone after this race through the intermediate sprints, with Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey to try and win it, but this year we’re kind of in the Richie Porte way, we’ve got to try and win this race on Willunga, and the next two days actually."