"What we said to Pogacar five years ago we say now to this boy" - Spanish pundit compares Isaac del Toro to Tadej Pogacar

Isaac del Toro has become the great revelation of the 2025 season, driven by an outstanding year in which he took second place in the Giro d'Italia and accumulated 16 victories, consolidating himself as one of the great stars of world cycling at the moment and, objectively, as one of the men called to dominate all types of races in the next decade. A mini Tadej Pogacar almost, and the comparison has been brought up by Javier Ares.

Ares, Eurosport's cycling commentator, has analyzed the Mexican rider's emergence in his second full year as a professional with Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates, highlighting his maturity, his winning form and the sporting phenomenon he represents on his YouTube channel.

"The phenomenon is not just because he wins. It's where he wins, how he wins, and who he beats, with a brazenness that makes you say 'well, what is this?' What we said to Pogacar five years ago we say now to this boy. But this kid is... 20 years old? He's not even 21 (correction, del Toro is 21 and will turn 22 on the 27th of November, ed.)."

"It's that, let's see, in cycling, precocity is what it is. One can be precocious, but as precocious as this man... He's making such a difference that you say: 'Hey, there's something here, there's substance here'. This phenomenon is a cyclone."

Del Toro is certainly worthy of such complements, having won the 2023 Tour de l'Avenir in style, getting himself a contract with UAE despite being a relative unknown beforehand - a rider not many teams wanted to bet on due to him coming from Mexico, a country with little tradition in the sport.

"But of course, as we are always very incredulous, very much of the saying: 'Yeah, but well, we'll see when he gets to the pros, we'll see when he gets to the World Tour...'. It gets to the World Tour, it gets to one race, it gets to another, it gets to another... and you say, 'But how is that possible?'"

In 2024 he rode to his first pro win and third at the Tour Down Under, fourth at Tirreno-Adriatico, seventh at Itzulia Basque Country and in the second half of the season he was mostly a domestique for his leaders, whilst gathering valuable experience at La Vuelta where he made his Grand Tour debut.

"It's just that what he's done at the Tour Down Under is to say 'hey, this guy is for real'. That this guy is going strong. He's going very strong. And not only how he wins: with what solemnity, with what power, with what determination, with what clarity of ideas, with what elegance on the bike. And with a serenity that makes you say: 'But this man looks like a veteran'."

In 2025 Del Toro simply thrived, starting from the Giro d'Italia. He has won more than almost any rider, but his style of riding is remarkably similar to that of Pogacar. An incredibly versatile rider who is not only a tremendous climber, but a consistent rider, great sprinter, great on the short efforts and with a very powerful sprint. Truly a jack of all trades, only with the time trial as - so far - a small weak spot in comparison to the other generational stage-racers.

"I wish many leaders who have been professionals for ten years had the expression and clarity that this kid has. And of course, people start to say 'yeah, yeah. But Pogacar, Pogacar, Pogacar, Pogacar...'. Hey, maybe he is compatible. Maybe we have a phenomenon here for a few years. One does not cancel out the other. Pogacar is a 'scandal' of a rider. This is another emerging phenomenon."

With Del Toro in UAE, currently perfectly set up for Grand Tour riders, he can develop even further, and potentially even be competition to Pogacar himself in future years. "It seems to me that, if this continues like this, this year we are going to talk a lot about Isaac del Toro," Ares suggests.

"And I say this with all the calmness in the world: let's see what happens when May, June, July arrive... because what he is showing now is a superlative level. And I repeat: it's not that he wins. It's how he wins. It's that there is not an Isaac del Toro every five years. You don't get one like that every day."