"It happened to me with Armstrong in 2009" - Alberto Contador analyzes the situation between Ayuso and Del Toro

On stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia 2025, Isaac del Toro launched an attack on the last climb, with the intention of chasing Richard Carapaz. However, no one followed him, and UAE Team Emirates - XRG did not understand that move. As long as he is in the fight, Juan Ayuso is the leader of the team.

After crossing the finish line, images went viral of Mauro Gianetti, UAE boss, going to say a few words to Del Toro: "When I left I did not realize that the team was not on my wheel, I did it without thinking. Then when I realized that I had gone with other rivals in the general classification I decided to stop and that we should all go together, which was the best thing for the team," said the 21-year-old Mexican at the end of stage 11.

During day 12, Alberto Contador, commentator for Eurosport, analyzed the situation, "The image of Gianetti approaching Del Toro just after crossing the finish line was significant. At that moment no one was clear exactly what had happened: if the order to stop came from the car, if he decided to brake on his own or if Ayuso said something over the radio. Mauro approached him right away, just before he spoke to the press, to reassure him and tell him a couple of key phrases, avoiding being taken by surprise with questions."

He compared it to a very similar experience he himself had in the 2009 Tour de France with Lance Armstrong, "At that point there was a break in the peloton, and the surprising thing was that my own team - where, in theory, I was the leader - was collaborating in the front group, opening up a gap and putting time on me. If you can understand that, I'd love to hear you explain it to me. Luckily, the people I trust the most came right away and took me straight to the bus. I knew the Tour was long and there were still a lot of stages to go."

Finally, he concluded by taking the heat off the matter, "Yesterday was one of those situations in which, inevitably, many will want to express their opinion or make a polemic out of it. That's why the least you can do is keep calm and not add more tension, for the good of the whole team. In my opinion, they handled it impeccably. Del Toro was very correct with his statements and, for now, I think they are handling the matter very intelligently."