“You don’t know what this means to me” – Isaac del Toro emotionally thanks Tadej Pogacar after as UAE leader gifts teammate first Tour de France stage win
CyclingSunday, 05 July 2026 at 18:04
Isaac del Toro could barely contain his emotion after taking the biggest victory of his career on stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de France, with the Mexican thanking Tadej Pogacar after the Slovenian allowed him to cross the line first in Barcelona.
Del Toro won at the Olympic Stadium after a remarkable UAE Team Emirates – XRG one-two, with Pogacar finishing second on the same time and Remco Evenepoel third for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe. Jonas Vingegaard also finished in the front group, taking fourth on the day and keeping the yellow jersey, but the image of the finale belonged to Del Toro and Pogacar.
Inside the final kilometre, Del Toro had appeared to be working for Pogacar after UAE had controlled the Montjuic finale through Brandon McNulty and Adam Yates. Instead, after opening a gap with his own acceleration, the young Mexican continued all the way to the line, with Pogacar choosing not to come past him.
“It means everything,” Del Toro said after the finish, still visibly emotional after securing his first Tour de France stage win. “I’ve said it before, I am very privileged to race on this team. They have given me confidence, it is the work of the team, of my friends. It is crazy to get this victory.”
Del Toro then made clear how much Pogacar’s gesture had meant to him. “I want to thank Tadej Pogacar for allowing me to win,” he added. “I am very emotional, you don’t know what this means to me.”
“I did the work for Tadej”
The finish was all the more striking because Del Toro’s role had initially been to help Pogacar finish off the stage. UAE had already put the race under pressure on the repeated Montjuic climbs, with McNulty doing a huge amount of damage before the final lap and Adam Yates later helping to position Pogacar near the decisive section.
On the final rise towards the Olympic Stadium, Del Toro accelerated from the reduced favourites’ group. His move appeared designed to launch Pogacar, but it also put Vingegaard under pressure and opened the decisive gap.
“We were going very fast, we knew this could happen,” Del Toro explained. “At the top I couldn’t be at the front, then I was able to come back. I did the work for Tadej, but the gap over Vingegaard was bigger and we were able to win. I am very proud to have the level to handle these situations.”
For Del Toro, it completed a dramatic turnaround after a difficult run-in to Barcelona. Earlier in the stage, he had suffered a mechanical and was forced into a long chase back through the convoy, with Nils Politt eventually dropping back to help him return to the peloton. By the time UAE took control on Montjuic, Del Toro was back in the right place.
Pogacar and Del Toro cross the line together
Mexican star delivers on biggest stage
Del Toro also used the moment to send a message back to Mexico, linking his victory to a major day for the national football team. “In Mexico we have 11 footballers who are going to give everything today, and to be at the same level today in the hardest race in the world is an honour,” he said.
The result gives Del Toro the first Tour stage win of his career and also puts him firmly into the early classification picture. He moved to fourth overall, 16 seconds behind Vingegaard, while also taking over the white jersey and moving into the lead of the points classification.
For UAE, it was a brutal show of strength on the first road stage of the race. Pogacar cut Vingegaard’s overall lead to six seconds, Del Toro won the stage, and the team also moved to the top of the team classification after a day that underlined the depth of their Tour de France challenge.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- LOL!!! Are you serious?MajorPayne05-07-2026
- Etape 2 was irrelevant for the eventual podium placements. Let see how the riders react to next 3 day's 'journey through dark heat' (also a great Bob Dylan song) in the Pyrenees.Jakob05-07-2026
- Chapeau, Torito! I've said before that I think Isaac has the faster sprint than Pogačar (UAE Tour stage 1 in 2025 and 2026) and to do that after having been 2 minutes behind and having closed down Skjelly is amazing. He was pushing hard for the final 2 km.
Rafionain-Glas05-07-2026 - Is Madiot the Decathlon DS or what? Stop claiming Seixas as your ownRafionain-Glas05-07-2026
- Is Madiot the Decathlon DS or what? Stop claiming Seixas as your ownRafionain-Glas05-07-2026
- That's what a good leader do, give back to your mate. Congrats, Tadej and Isaac.
KerisVroom05-07-2026 - Vingegaard is wearing a medical mask against the virus, but the only virus he needs to worry about today is Pogačaritis, and even firefighting equipment won't help him, let alone a regular medical mask. Bring it on... GOOOOO POGIIIIIIIIII !!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- My prediction: UAE will control tomorrow's stage then 2 days of rest... then they will control Tourmalet stage then 4 days of rest... then Lioran stage then 3 days of rest... then stage 14... but on stage 15 Visma will realize that they have already lost the Tour. OMG, it's so easy to be UAE's Directeur Sportif.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- Yes, Tadej Pogacar was the fastest of the whole field through the final section of the course. As for Visma, yesterday they showed that they are the Team Sky of the modern era and Jonas is an even better version of Froome. They are by far the most professional team in the pro peloton and they deserved to win the TTT, but unfortunately for them, "Froome No.2" is racing against an alien.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- Visma showed yesterday that they are the Team Sky of the modern era and even have a better version of Froome. They are by far the most professional team in the pro peloton and they deserved to win the TTT, but unfortunately for them, Froome No.2 is racing against an alien.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
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