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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Del Toro has said that he was one major push from Carapaz away from giving up and letting go of the wheel. But, at the right moment for del Toro, Carapaz stopped pushing. So, del Toro is in his rights to recognize that he wasn't actually able to chase Yates down - he didn't have the legs. There was that moment when the two were tantalizingly close to Yates, but del Toro trying to close the gap would have given them the opportunity to 1-2 punch him again. It would have worked, given that he was tired, and then Carapaz likely would have won the Giro. Basically, the moment del Toro let either one of them go forward, he was going to lose the Giro. He had no chance, at his strength level. All of it comes down to the fact that he has said that he didn't have the legs.
They were only 1:40 behind Yates at the summit and could have chased on teh descent and in the valley regardless of Wout ! He didn't lose the Giro only on the climb.
Given that Carapaz's behavior was in retaliation for del Toro's on the climb, I'd say that he did lose the race entirely on the climb - but the consequences took some time to be clear.
Don't think Carapaz and Del Toro could have reeled him back in once Yates got to Wout; too big of an engine. The lead would have been stretched long enough to prevent them from closing the gap at the end.