"I cried with happiness" - Isaac del Toro, the new contender for a possible Giro d'Italia victory
CyclingSunday, 18 May 2025 at 18:43
Isaac del Toro is the new leader of the Giro d'Italia. The Mexican is riding at an exceptional level throughout the race and in the sterrato stage he took advantage of the circumstances of the race and his incredible legs to get away with Wout van Aert. After finishing second in the Piazza del Campo, he ended up wearing the maglia rosa at the finish line in Siena.
He couldn't believe what happened after entering the finish line in statements collected by CyclingPro.net: "It's incredible, the truth, it's a very nice feeling, I haven't realized it yet. When I was on the gravel on the last climb, when they told me the gap I couldn't believe it, I tried to get there as fast as possible. I cried with happiness".
Del Toro responded to INEOS Grenadiers' collective attack and was in perfection position. He truly looked like the strongest rider on the day, and his off-road abilities came in incredibly handy for a memorable performance that took him to the pink jersey with over a minute over teammate Juan Ayuso and over two on Primoz Roglic - which puts him as a realistic contender for the race victory officially.
Next Tuesday there is a time-trial that can give another twist to the general classification. He assures that he will give everything: "I will try to do my best, we will see if I have a good day, we won't know until we are there. We will try to give the best effort".
At the end of the stage he was seen talking to his rival, Wout van Aert, who did not give him a relay. This is how the young Mexican from UAE sees it: "I had enough pressure, I am a fan of Wout and I understand the situation he was in, he had Simon [Yates] behind and he wanted the stage and that's fine".
"But I also tried to put a little pressure on him and try to get him to collaborate with me and it is understood that he could not, he had everything to win, in the end I tried to go as fast as possible, I tried to arrive before and I could not, congratulations to him".
With the race lead now on his shoulders, who knows how far he can go in this Corsa Rosa. "I can't believe it, I think I'm a very lucky person who uses everything I have to try to be better, focus a little bit and try to do things, but sometimes I don't realize this, it's okay to dream, but sometimes it's too good to be true."
He is clear that he is not the UAE leader, but does not rule out arriving in Rome in pink: "For me today in the morning are Adam Yates and Juan Ayuso, they are people who have already shown before that they can be here with great capabilities".
"For me it is a privilege to be in the same bus and the same team, but the situation of the race fell in my favor by the fall, the sterrato and all that entailed. Then I do not know, we will see if we can use this to our advantage as a team and go to the end."
claps 6visitors 6
Just in
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
May 12, 11:09
0
Popular news
Latest comments
- Maybe 3 Grand Tours in one year was an effort that emptied him?. I don't understand. Yesterday he can pull only few METERS. Very sad, he was a fantastic climber, the only one that left with Jonas and Tadej in the hardest climbs.
maria2024202414-06-2025 - you could put Remco on Jumbo or UAE, he wouldn’t win against Tadejmij14-06-2025
- Remco won’t be adapting. he will be nothing more than what we saw today. Jonas might. Tadej blew his doors off before “preseason” only to have Jonas win the tour. I don’t write him off yet.mij14-06-2025
- The main data point was Remco. He really isn't future grand tour winner. Podium is more realistic. I love him as much as anyone but there are already other riders who can beat him over three weeks, and I don't mean Pog or Jonas. Separately, Bora need to wake up and make Lipowitz their leader. They already wasted his talent last year by insisting he ride as support.Renz14-06-2025
- Lipo only 20" behind Jonas. Unexpected. Yeah, Tadej superb performance but proportionally, other magnificent performances were Wellens, Lipowitz and the teen Seixas.maria2024202414-06-2025
- Remco will never beat this two in a grand tour due to his team being a lot weaker!frieders314-06-2025
- Kuss hasn't done anything since his Vuelta win!frieders314-06-2025
- Remco needs to do more if he expects to challenge the top 2. He cannot crash. He should at least drop the lesser climbersabstractengineer14-06-2025
- Absolute gush! Presumptuous nonsense and bad journalism. This is one of the world's finest riders we are talking about, and this kind of tabloid speculation has no place in this arena.maccabee14-06-2025
- Evenepoel yes, Vin, that’s not his best terrain so if Tadej pushes he can have difficulties. Jonas is a diesel but may have been fitted with a turbo lately. We will see. They have a month to fine tune and adapt to what they learn of each other here.Mistermaumau13-06-2025
He knows how to answer a tricky question that may get him into trouble with his teammates. All the best to him. May he win this GT!
He already may be, he left them behind and then took over Pink
May be, everything is possible in a 3weeker. His high-paced ride with WVA (plus the upcoming TT) may hit him yet whikst Ayuso enjoyed the luxury of a protected group to « recover » 2 days. As used to happen in the past, maybe we’ll see a fresh guy eating 2-3 minutes into a tired one on a single climb again? Don’t know, don’t care but I’ll keep an open mind for the moment. Oh, and any of these guys can also have a Roglič day, or worse, a Jay day and by the end no-one will remember the final result could have or was distorted by such incidents.