“It’s something I never thought about before” – Isaac del Toro loving every second of dream Tour de France debut alongside Tadej Pogacar

Isaac del Toro’s first Tour de France has already moved far beyond anything he expected. Two days into the race, the Mexican has gone from debutant to stage winner, white jersey leader and key helper in Tadej Pogacar’s first move into yellow.

One day after taking his maiden Tour stage win in Barcelona, Del Toro helped Pogacar win stage 3 at Les Angles and move into the yellow jersey. He kept hold of the young rider classification, stayed inside the top five overall, and found himself preparing for another podium ceremony alongside the biggest name in the race.

“It was super important to be up there with Tadej,” Del Toro said after the stage. “I’m so happy to see him with the yellow jersey. We achieved our goal, and now I’m going on the podium with him. It’s something I never thought about before in my life.”

UAE Team Emirates – XRG had taken responsibility for the first Pyrenean stage after a dangerous breakaway threatened to stay clear. Alex Baudin briefly moved into the virtual yellow jersey from the escape before later securing the polka dots, but UAE gradually cut into the gap and brought the stage back towards a favourites’ finish.

Del Toro’s own work came deep in the finale. Inside the final kilometre, he moved Pogacar into position, stretched the group and gave the Slovenian the launchpad for the acceleration that Jonas Vingegaard could not match.

The speed of Del Toro’s opening Tour has been striking. Stage 2 brought him his first victory at the race; stage 3 brought a different role, with the 22-year-old helping turn Pogacar’s first direct finish against Vingegaard into a stage win and the yellow jersey.

His own position is now hard to ignore as well. Del Toro leads the young rider classification ahead of Juan Ayuso and Paul Seixas after three stages, while also sitting fourth overall at 24 seconds. Asked whether the white jersey could become a realistic goal, he kept the answer deliberately light. “It could be, but as I said, I’m here to enjoy every moment, and I think you can see that every day,” he said. “I just want to be as happy as I can.”

That fits the way Del Toro has carried himself through the opening weekend. UAE have three riders inside the top five overall, with Pogacar leading, Del Toro fourth and Ayuso fifth, but Del Toro’s own reaction still sounded more like a rider trying to absorb the moment than one already measuring the Tour through targets.

Pogacar now leads the race, Vingegaard is level with him on time, Remco Evenepoel sits third at 23 seconds, Del Toro is fourth at 24 seconds and Ayuso fifth at 27. After back-to-back stage wins, UAE have already placed themselves at the centre of the Tour’s first major GC picture.

For Del Toro, the numbers only tell part of it. He has gone from Tour debutant to stage winner, white jersey leader, Pogacar’s final helper and podium companion in the space of two days.

The next major mountain test will bring a different kind of pressure. For now, Del Toro is still riding the first wave of a Tour debut that has already become bigger than anything he had imagined.