"If I've already lost first place, I'm not going to lose second" - Isaac del Toro explains reason for post-Finestre stalemate with Richard Carapaz

Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz clashed today at the Giro d'Italia, physically and psychologically. On the Colle delle Finestre the Ecuadorian's many attacks weren't enough to drop the pink jersey, but after the climb the two bumped heads and both lost their position to Simon Yates.

In a flash interview he explained the happenings of the stage. Afterwards, with more calm, he answered questions regarding Yates and Carapaz: “Of course, he (Yates, ed.) was the smartest. Hats off to Visma because they played Visma with van Aert up front. They opened up a gap very quickly in the valley. Congratulations to the team and their tactics.”

After the climb, Carapaz did not want to work with Del Toro, and Del Toro ended up doing the same: “Carapaz told me he wasn't going to help me because I didn't help him when we were 20 seconds behind. I told him, OK. If I've already lost first place, I'm not going to lose second," he explained.

"I just wanted to be smart and not go crazy on the first attacks because it's a one-hour climb". He ended up resisting all of the moves, however what wasn't in the plan was a Simon Yates that delivered an incredible climb and was later helped by Wout van Aert, something UAE could not respond to this time around.

“I did what I thought was the smartest thing. I think they had two minutes at the top. I couldn't get him to within a minute of Simon and then have him attack me and win the Giro. That's what I told him. Everyone was playing. Visma played well, we tried to play equally well, but that's how it was. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose".

Del Toro can from this Giro onwards win a Grand Tour however, he is certain: “With all due respect to the great riders, I'm a fan of all of them, but watching all the stages and seeing my individual performance, I now believe I can do it, because I had a great race and a smart race. I can't believe it's like this, but the team was always with me. If I have to answer, yes, I think I could win this Giro".

But of course, there is a lot of disappointment in the mix: "50/50 disappointing. 50 for me and 50 for my teammates, because they deserve to win. But you have to realize how big this is, and it's not easy.”