"The sharks are circling, and they sense blood" - Isaac del Toro's inexperience costing him at Giro d'Italia according to Philippa York

Isaac del Toro might still be in the Maglia Rosa at the 2025 Giro d'Italia ahead of stage 17, but after the first signs of weakness of the race from the Mexican on stage 16, he is suddenly very much at threat.

For Del Toro, this was the first properly mountainous GC day in his Grand Tour career and according to Philippa York, runner-up at the Giro d'Italia back in 1987, that inexperience cost the UAE Team Emirates - XRG prodigy when up against his more experienced rivals. "He's 21 and doesn’t have the same resistance as Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz yet," York explains in her analysis for Cycling News. "The numerous grim, unrelenting, and nasty race days give an inner strength he will eventually develop. For the moment, he’s like a young racehorse: eager, ready, and not quite sure of his place in the hierarchy. On the last climb, he found out that things can go from fine to trouble quickly."

Somewhat surprisingly, given the immense strength in depth of the UAE team, Del Toro also found himself alone when he needed help most. "Not having Juan Ayuso nearby put all the pressure on him," York notes. "At first, he seemed okay. He didn’t panic when Carapaz attacked and based his race on Simon Yates, who he thought would be his biggest rival. The problem with that idea is that the Visma GC man rides at a high pace for a long time. If you follow that speed and it’s just beyond your limit, eventually you have to let the wheel go. Del Toro didn’t make that decision and cracked because of it."

"With more experience, he would have known to pace himself better," York continues. "But he’s young, and today's climbing lesson was quite harsh. He ran out of energy, and it's telling that all the riders who dropped before him came back and rode past."

Because of this, despite the fact that Del Toro remains in the race lead by 26 seconds from Yates, with Carapaz 31 seconds down ahead of stage 17, York believes the Mexican is in real trouble going forward. "He finished very, very tired. We'll now see what his recovery is like after such a big day. All the previous attacks, accelerations, and efforts came back to bite him today," she concludes. "It wasn’t a complete disaster like teammate and co-leader Juan Ayuso, as he’s still in Pink, but the sharks are circling, and they sense blood."