UAE DS reveals communication with Isaac del Toro on Finestre: "We tried to encourage him to keep an eye on Yates as well"
CyclingThursday, 05 June 2025 at 09:02
Isaac del Toro could almost feel the trophy for winner of Giro d'Italia in the palm of his hand. But then he and then Richard Carapaz suddenly gifted the victory to Simon Yates. In the descent from Colle delle Finestre and subsequent valley, the Visma rider gained four minutes and the race was over while Del Toro and Carapaz kept looking at each other. What was going on in UAE Team Emirates - XRG team car?
"We clearly underestimated Simon (Yates, ed.), he was exceptional on Saturday," DS Fabio Baldato tells TuttoBiciWeb. "The instructions were to always follow Carapaz. Isaac responded well to that, and that is also positive. Simon was smart: he rode his own pace and then anticipated by playing the two off against each other."
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As the two stared at each other, Simon Yates suddenly disappeared from their reach: "Unfortunately, that's how it happened. Of course, when Simon started to gain a 20 to 30 second lead and Van Aert was in front of him as a support, we were a bit worried. Isaac stayed on Carapaz's wheel and the two started looking at each other, you know how it is. Meanwhile, Simon just kept pushing at the front."
Of course the men in team car didn't sit idly as all of that was happening, but there was only as much they could've done about it. "Halfway up the climb we tried to encourage him to keep an eye on Yates as well. We only did that once, also because he is the one on the bike - he knows his legs. His goal was to go up with Carapaz. He chose to save his strength for the end. So let's say: in the end it was a decision that Isaac made himself."
"Afterwards you think: 'If only I had told him one more time to go, to chase...' Yes, that still gnaws at you. You know how it is: afterwards it is easy to analyse and judge. He knew how much energy he still had, how his legs felt. And above all: let's not forget, he is young."
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- He won't win the TDF unless Pogi messes up somehow. Pogačar didn't have a team when Vingo beat him. Now, the teams are near even and head to head Pogačar is just a better ridermd197503-07-2025
- Guy is a great classic rider, if he concentrated on a GT only I think he could win one. However, he would have to be all in to try. I like him great ridermd197503-07-2025
- To win of top 3, he needs support. A d according to the roster, they are taking a sprinter and lead out man. So, come time to climb, Remco is down 2 team members for support. To win a race like the TDF you need skill, luck (illness and falls), directions from the team and more than anything a team built to be your support on flat and then climbs. Not be out manned before you even see a climbmd197503-07-2025
- I agree, the big GC guys are there, but looking at the list, it seems a bit few teams with real GC ambitions. Or is it normal, half of the team are only there for stagesRide197402-07-2025
- Win all of the first 10 stages? Or does he mean that the profile of all of those 10 stages are suited for a win by Wout? If they mean winning 10 stages, they're banking on MVDP, Milan, and a few others to crash out on stage one. Maybe something was lost in translation.Ride197402-07-2025
- The problem is that grand tours are not always won by the best riders. In the 2025 Giro d'italia, Carapaz was the strongest rider - but Simon Yates and Del Toro had really good days on Stages 20 and 9 respectively, so they both finished ahead of him
Llywelynglyndwr02-07-2025 - God what an a hole - why does this site insist on giving a platform to these pundits who have never won a race ?Crashjames02-07-2025
- Jonas admires Tadej, he has said repeatedly he is fascinated watching him racing the classics. Normal, any intellectually honest person admire such a generational talent who's been astounding the world with his incredible versatility since he was 18-19 y.o.
maria2024202402-07-2025 - Agreed. It's a shame to watch such a talented and versatile rider spending ... 90% ?... of his resources being a domestique. FREE WOUT!!! ahahah.maria2024202402-07-2025
- Surprised there's no De Plus.joebloggs02-07-2025
It was just the most bizarre'ist thing I've ever seen, thought the Visma Vuelta debacle was something but this will stand for a good time...
There is no universe in which taking all three podium spots at a Grand Tour is a "debacle." It is one of the great triumphs of modern cycling. I'm not sure it even hastened the end of Rog's time at TJV. He wasn't happy with the way things went at that Vuelta, but that's not why he left. He left because Jonas was the two-time defending TDF champion, and there was no way he was getting top billing any more.
What UAE did was a debacle, and their response to it - basically throwing Del Toro under the bus - is worse. Just a stunning misplay on Finestre, and an even more stunning misplay in the media since then.
The 2023 Vuelta was becoming a PR debacle for Visma, as Jonas followed Roglic on Stage 17 and almost wiped out Kuss's lead, just 8 seconds between Kuss and Jonas. But after listening to the fans they threw their weight behind Kuss and turned it into a PR success.
100%. The "debacle" of deciding which of your three riders is going to win is much different and way better than the debacle of losing the Giro with a whimper on the last competitive stage.
I totally agree that the way UAE lost this Giro was terrible. Maybe Visma at the Vuelta is not the best comparison. (That Vuelta was more as if Pog had unexpectedly started this Giro but been too sick for two weeks to compete with Ayuso or surprise leader Del Toro, then over three stages raced back to almost take the lead)
MR - I'm not taking issue with the details just the overall factors involved 👍