"I cried with happiness" - Isaac del Toro, the new contender for a possible Giro d'Italia victory

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."