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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From what I can gather, seems the DS had drilled into Del Toro before the race and again at the start of the long climb that he must mark Carapaz. Imperfect info made it difficult for the DS to directly tell Del Toro to close on Yates before the end of the climb, so it was mostly left to Del Toro's unexperienced judgement, who may have been near his limit anyways. In the end, probably either one could have lead the chase, but then would have come in third, while helping the other to first. Great execution of a great plan by Visma in Wout getting on top of the climb in advance and Yates being able to get that separation that caused the stalemate behind him. Also, in hindsight, big mistake by both EF and UAE in letting the break and Wout get so far out.