"I could see Del Toro go to the Giro d'Italia and race against Jonas Vingegaard" - Will this be the battle for the 2027 Corsa Rosa?
Cycling
The Tour de France and Giro d'Italia have already revealed their routes for the 2027 season, leaving the GC riders with objective views of the main races they will aim for next year. On the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn have spoken about Isaac del Toro and how he may be used by UAE Team Emirates - XRG.
After the route reveal, there was a consensus on what race the Mexican might aim for: "I would personally put Isaac Del Toro as a major contender to start the Giro d'Italia," Silva began. "It will depend a lot on who the competition in there will be, his role in the race, and the expectations will depend on that. But taking into consideration what he's done this season..."
Del Toro won the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes this year; as well as the GP de Montréal; and finished third at races such as Strade Bianche and Tour de France where his teammate Tadej Pogacar took the victory.
The 2027 Tour de France is time trial heavy, and there are indications that all of the main GC riders should aim for the yellow jersey. Meanwhile for the Giro d'Italia that is not so certain. But that opens up a door for Del Toro: "I look at my notes and the first thing I write about Del Toro is Giro is, and in the capitals, a must," Quinn argued.
"Tadej [Pogacar] going to the Tour again; he's already got himself a podium at the Tour, he has unfinished business with the Giro, he's a more complete rider, it's been 18 months since then". Del Toro was second in the 2025 edition, one marked by the controversy within UAE with Juan Ayuso; and the Colle delle Finestre showdown in which he lost the lead to Simon Yates.
"The Tour de France still is a tantalizing prospect for Remco Evenepoel, Paul Siexas and Vingegaard. Not all three of them are going to be at the Giro, for sure. And there's a chance that none of them are [...] You do the Giro and you can line up a full summer ahead and look for Worlds, and then maybe Italian classics if Tadej Pogacar is doing the Vuelta. So the season does line up naturally as well".
Both see Del Toro race the Giro d'Italia, specially in the back drop of João Almeida's illnesses in 2026, which have affected his form, and rendered him an unsafe card to bet on the three-week races until proven otherwise.
Can UAE win all three Grand Tours in 2027?
Recently, Joxean Matxin spoke about the personal ambition of guiding UAE towards all three Grand Tour victories. 2027 could be the year, with Tadej Pogacar likely to be the main favourite at both Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
And the team could do what only Visma managed to, back in 2023. "I can see them win all three Grand Tours, without much of a doubt," Silva confided. "I think Del Toro can win the Giro; Pogacar winning the Tour of Vuelta... Well, that's what we were on track to see this summer".
He also believes that whilst no decisions have been made, it is clear what decisions are most logical: "I could see Del Toro go to the Giro d'Italia and race against Jonas Vingegaard".
And for the Tour de France, Pogacar will race against Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas once again. "That's what I personally think will happen at the Tour de France. Del Toro will not be present, and he will prepare for the World Championships, whilst the other big four will be at the Tour".
Del Toro and Jonas Vingegaard might headline Giro d'Italia battle
The Corsa Rosa will feature a climbing-heavy course, with 56 kilometers of time trialing, but also seven summit finishes - including mythical ascents such as the Passo del Mortirolo, Passo di Gavia and Monte Zoncolan.
If Vingegaard and Del Toro go head to head at the Corsa Rosa, Silva anticipates a tight battle. "I think that against Vingegaard, he would maybe not be... He could maybe be a 60-40. Del Toro, I put him very, very close to Vingegaard".
"I don't think he's as strong of a pure climber, which the Giro will be strongly based on, but he is consistent, e is versatile and can win on the time trials to Vingegaard".
And with Del Toro's progression and delivery in 2026, the climbing gap to the Visma leader might not be as big as was the case previously. "He just is a good climber. He's a great climber: He was third at this year's Tour. I mean, regardless of the hows and what ifs, he was third".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I'm not trying to argue with you but if you didn't see Del Toro struggling in the Tour I'll pay for some glasses for you lol. He struggled so much that Tadej missed winning stage 15, Tadej also dropped the pace along some stages to help Del Toro hold onto the podium. Now he may have been sick, that is a possibility, but he definitely struggled. You have a nice weekend as well brother.awp13-11-2026
- Im not copmaring him to jonas palmares...but current level of power and again like you even pointed out 19sec difference and on other ocassions del toro dropping him. Its evidently their close and based on both their different trajectory its self explanatory...where we are next year.And Del Toro didnt struggle if getting a podium in his first TDF at 22 year old is struggling you sure dont know how to be objective haha. But have a good weekend this is so dumb to discuss as its not even a discussin in reality as facts speak for themselves of what were actually speaking of - and self explanatory.miguel13-11-2026
- fingers crossed. my son has a poster of wout and mathieu battling each other at the beach at ostend up in his room. would be great to see them again there!Ketterechts13-11-2026
- This Giro is very strange in it's circular route. If you were to have stage starting in Trieste and ending atop Monte Zoncolan (end stage 20) you'd get a stage only 145 km long
Rafionain-Glas13-11-2026 - When Thomas gets the bullet from INEOS he can get a job as a comedian.
Senna196013-11-2026 - Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
- what did Jonas gift and to whom? just curious, haven’t heard about this.mij13-11-2026
- You don't gift grand tours as it has come to light that Jonas has come to regret doing such.
Front24213-11-2026 - Exactly you said it urslf - he outclimbed del toro by 19 sec. 19SEC and you say hes alot better than del toro still lol? And can also do the same where del toro did that to jonas even and del toro dauphine numbers better than jonas all year so why this hard whats the issue its super easy stuff - del toro wasnt that before. Then factor in both their trajectory the last years and the answer is self explonatory like i said. Nothing against jonas like many do but the typing is no the wall and so stupidly easy as its so self explanatory now. Have a good daymiguel13-11-2026
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