"What we said to Pogacar five years ago we say now to this boy" - Spanish pundit compares Isaac del Toro to Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
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'."
Javier Ares, talking about Isaac del Toro in his Youtube channel
Comparison with Pogacar
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."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment