"My 5 year old son would know" - Geraint Thomas gobsmacked with Isaac del Toro's tactics on decisive Giro stage
CyclingMonday, 02 June 2025 at 10:20
There has been a very mixed reaction throughout social media on the tactics of Isaac del Toro on this final stage of the Giro d'Italia competitively speaking, and for the most part the Mexican's decision to stop working when Richard Carapaz would not collaborate was criticized - even by Geraint Thomas.
The Mexican decided to follow the wheel of Richard Carapaz at all times on the Colle delle Finestre, did not want or could not catch Simon Yates and ended up giving up the maglia rosa by far at the finish of Sestrière. He will end the Giro in second place overall after Visma outpowered and outsmarted UAE Team Emirates - XRG in the queen stage.
Geraint Thomas has shown no mercy to the young UAE rider, explaining that he did not understand what happened when the decision was made: "Do you need experience to realize that the third place is pulling away and that, if you stop pedaling, it's going to take time out of you? Dude, my son Macs would know, and he's 5 years old."
Carapaz refused to work in the valley after Del Toro did not collaborate on the climb, and the two entered a stalemate that quickly saw the gap to Simon Yates grow by minutes and eliminated any chance of fighting for victory again.
However not everyone was as critical of the Mexican, a 21-year old Giro debutant who would've never expected to be in this position when the race started and he was supposed to be a domestique for Juan Ayuso.
Lidl-Trek's Carlos Verona defended him: "With my respects, the perfect decision does not exist and is difficult in a sport where fatigue and momentum play a decisive role. Neither the good guys are that good, nor the bad guys that bad. They are the same with different cards. I hope you enjoyed this Giro d'Italia".
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- Not sure this type of show will always be looked on positivelyMistermaumau06-06-2025
- Strategy? What strategy? They had less than Viable had at the Vuelta Kuss won. When you read management trying to offload blame with turns like « we tried to encourage him » (IDT) to watch Yates, you have to ask, is anyone directing anything? How about TELLING him?Mistermaumau06-06-2025
- They don’t half come up with some crap to turn events into stories. Problem is, if all this was true and so influential, that means 1. Riders are lacking inherent motivation and possibilities for motivation, 2. it’s due to race radio chatter he won and 3. They were lucky no attention was given and race radio didn’t mention him. In fact you are basically admitting outside influence skewed the race and if it works, this technique might get exploited commercially in future by corrupt or biased staff, rivals and officials. So c’mon guys, let’s stay a little factual coz otherwise you’re only going to shoot yourselves in the feet.Mistermaumau06-06-2025
- Maybe Ayuso will ride Tour de France coming July to help Pogi better than Adam Yates. We don't know what Gianetti and Matxin going on their minds.
James2631806-06-2025 - Glad it worked for Yates, I don't believe for 1 second that UAE would conduct themselves like so with Pog. #noway
leedorney06-06-2025 - He'd won the Giro after all. That should put him as the strongest rider by itself. His rivals couldn't match him on the Finestre. Superior team tactics, but also superior legs by no means. He didn't even miss a doping test. Believe it or notBM06-06-2025
- Solid worker this guy 💪leedorney06-06-2025
- One of the amazing things about cycling is how many races are happening at the same time. Stage, GC, and (as is clear here) job. It’s what makes the sport so interesting. On screen maybe not much is happening, but and yet so much is happening.RidesHills06-06-2025
- In contract year, i would say that if team duties permit, you are allowed to market yourself.abstractengineer06-06-2025
- Now its not a good team for talent development and opportunities. With Tadej hogging the GTs and the Monuments and the rest left fighting for scraps, there is very little chance for leadership roles which are critical in development of future greatsabstractengineer06-06-2025
Honestly Del Toro didn't act like had the jersey at all. Was so many times on stages prior he got Gee or someone else to chase when it was 100% his teams responsibility.
Bloody hell, that's rubbish. Something fishy about it all 🐟 Did the Shiek bet Del Toro to lose against the odds?? Something from above happened in our race 🤔💩
I think del Toro was on his limit and maybe he could or maybe he couldn't have followed Yates but I think he and Carapaz didn't feel Yates would stay away..
Del Toro will have his day, he's a big talent and he's still developing. Can't wait to see this young man win a grand tour in the future.
Oh, f**k off Rebecca.
what did your 5 y.o child say when you lost a Giro because lost seconds changing and adjusting a helmet, Mr G.?
It was a masterclass in throwing away a Grand Tour for free. Carapaz wasn’t in Pink. Del Toro was. It was his to lose, and he lost it without putting up any resistance whatsoever.
Precisely. If he fought hard and cracked and ended up in third or fourth, there would be zero criticism. It’s the way he lost that is unbelievable. Overall I blame the team WAY more than the lad.
A guy like Del Toro came as helper to Ayuso and Yates. his decisions came from the car more often than not. In the Last Stage he did not crack. If only he had fought as hard as he did for 2nd place against Carapaz, he would have won
How many Giros did Mr. G win? zero. How many Giros did Mr. G lose? all. On the sofa we all are genius.
How many GTs have you ridden ! My quess is a big fat 0 ! Del Toro blew it and that can't be argued!
I'n not a professional and I'm not destroying a 21 boy because took a bad decision. Mr. G. over 37 y.o. LOST A GIRO in the last stage for seconds! SECONDS THAT HE LOST CHANGING AND ADJUSTING A HELMET. He is the least that could say these kinds of phrases, destroying a boy at his first leader GC experience.
Nobody is destroying anybody over a simple loss. But it was Del Toro fault since he had the pink jersey and it was his responsibility. G is not a brilliant tactician either but what he is saying is true. Also the entire fault isnt Del Toro, its also UAE staff's fault. They should have advised him better
Geraint Thomas has every right to make those comments, regardless of whether or how he lost the very same race in the past, and his comments are hardly 'destroying' Isaac del Torro. He was being critical of the tactics that del Torro and UAE chose to employ, just as countless others have, because they were terrible tactics. There was no malice or ill intention behind that criticism.
Also, aside the bad taste of ridiculing in public, not too sure of his parenting skills coz it sure sounds like he’s already decided his boy won’t have much career choice. if this is the kind of stuff he knows at 5.
I would agree that del Toro dropped the ball; however, Carapaz consistently works against the people he is riding with. There have been too many times where he is ahead in a small break, and rather than pulling, he attacks, sits on, and attacks again, disrupting the rhythm.
However awful UAE's tactics were, and however bad the fear of being cracked again by Carapaz were, it is still almost beyond belief that Del Toro stopped fighting. Very sad, he had shown such fighting spirit.
dont you think it was instructions from the team car rather than his giving up? he seemed to be following orders throughout the race?
Yes, I do think he was getting very unhelpful orders. But I was still shocked and sad. At some point I was hoping he would pull the earpiece out and just ride till he was spent!
I think Their problem is Pogi, They have so gotten used to Pogi tactics of "Hulk Smash" that they forget that their other riders are not even close to Pogi and need tactics
Pogi can also be good at devising his own winning strategy under stress, like in the sixth stage of the 2023 Tour, where he bounced back from a Stage 5 that was so bad he just wanted to go home to surprise and drop a top-form Vingegaard in the finale.
1 will never know wth was UAE's tactics on this stage other than to lose the Giro
"Follow Carapaz"
"Carapaz is taking a leak" "Follow Carapaz"
"But Yates is going ahead" "Follow Carapaz"
So he dutifully followed Carapaz to 2nd Place