"Today you’ve seen how quickly everything can change" — Isaac del Toro makes history and reopens the debate: Was Juan Ayuso wrong to leave UAE?
Cycling
Isaac del Toro emerged as one of the standout revelations of the 2026 Tour de France. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider made history as the first Mexican to step onto the podium of the Grand Boucle, finishing third behind Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. He also claimed the white jersey as best young rider and opened his account in the French race with a stage win during the opening week.
The Tour de France proves to be a brutal challenge
He did all that without abandoning the role he took on from day one: working to help Pogacar secure his fifth Tour. His success inevitably invites comparison with Juan Ayuso. The pair were teammates until the end of 2025, but chose very different paths. The Spaniard left UAE Team Emirates-XRG to become the outright leader at Lidl-Trek, convinced he needed a team built around him to fight for yellow.
Del Toro, by contrast, chose to stay within the Emirati structure, accept a secondary role alongside the best rider in the world, and wait patiently for his chances. One year on, the balance is stark: while Ayuso finished seventh and faded in the third week, the Mexican reached the podium and confirmed that the future is his, too.
After the finish in Paris, Del Toro explained that the result carries a meaning far deeper than a simple third place. “It’s very hard to be here. Today you saw how quickly everything can change. We were lucky there was a rule, but you also saw how cruel cycling can be,” he said, recalling the tension of the final stage.
The Mexican went a step further, highlighting the challenges many Latin American riders face to reach the elite of European cycling. “One day you’ll understand how complicated it is for us, Latin Americans, to get through these 21 days of racing,” he noted.

Isaac del Toro on the podium of the 2026 Tour de France
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Del Toro and the long game of patience
“It’s a sport that has been developing for much longer in Europe, and coming here to compete at the highest level makes for a huge difference.” Even so, Del Toro chose to dwell on the positives of a performance that firmly places him among the leading figures of the international peloton. “I’m very happy and very grateful to be here,” he summed up. “It’s simply the context we have to live with.”
Beyond the brilliant sporting result, the Tour also offers a lesson in two very different ways to manage a career. Ayuso opted to leave the most dominant team in the world to seek outright leadership. The choice was understandable: sharing a roster with Pogacar inevitably limits opportunities to fight for the general classification.
However, his debut as sole leader ended up raising more questions than answers. The Spaniard faded as the race wore on and could not even finish ahead of Mattias Skjelmose, the teammate who was, in theory, meant to support him in the mountains.
Del Toro chose the opposite route. He stayed at UAE, worked for Pogacar when needed, and seized every opening the race offered. The outcome was a stage win, the white jersey, and a historic podium at the Tour de France.
It is too soon to deliver a definitive verdict on Ayuso’s decision, as his quality is beyond doubt and he still has room to grow. But if the question is confined to the outcome of the 2026 Tour de France, the answer looks clear. In their first year apart, Isaac del Toro’s bet on patience, learning alongside the best rider in the world, and collective work has yielded far more than the immediate pursuit of absolute leadership.

Javier RampeCycling Journalist
Javier Rampe is a sports analyst with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome and a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Cádiz. Despite coming from an academic background not particularly associated with cycling, his passion for both cycling and journalism was instilled in him from an early age. He grew up following Miguel Indurain and José María “El Chava” Jiménez. An admirer of Michael Robinson’s communication style and journalistic approach, he was inspired to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Buenos Aires, which he is currently completing.
He has always maintained close ties with the worlds of sport and culture, contributing from a young age to sports blogs and film and music review websites. His work has appeared in media outlets such as Cope, RAI, and Radio Con Vos. He is also the founder of the cycling-focused podcast El Contraanálisis and the football interview channel Días De Fútbol, dedicated to conversations with professional footballers.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Javier has interviewed some of the most influential figures in modern cycling, including Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar, as well as key voices in anti-doping policy such as Alberto Yelmo, David Varillas, and Marcelo Milano. Marcos Maynar, in relation to the ‘Operación Ílex’ case, is also among the personalities he has interviewed. He enjoys conducting in-depth analysis of the cycling ecosystem and has attended major events such as Strade Bianche, the Vuelta a Andalucía, and Itzulia, as well as numerous national cyclo-cross races.
His background in economics, combined with extensive experience in marketing and corporate communications, drives his continuous study of positioning strategies and ensures that he always keeps his focus on crafting compelling and evocative headlines.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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