Del Toro ready to ride 'full gas' for Pogacar at Tour despite Dauphiné triumph
Victory at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, previously the Dauphiné, has long been a launchpad for a tilt at the yellow jersey of the Tour de France, but Isaac del Toro has insisted that he will ride firmly in the service of Tadej Pogacar in July.
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Del Toro claimed the yellow jersey on the final day after soloing to victory on Plateau de Solaison, picking up his second mountaintop win in as many days after his triumph on the Grand Colombier on Saturday.
The Mexican has now won an astonishing 24 races in the last twelve months, and this was his third WorldTour stage race win of the season after he landed the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico in the spring.
Del Toro divested a plucky Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) of the yellow jersey by attacking on the haul to Plateau de Solaison, and he revealed that he had reconnoitred the ascent recently in the company of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Pogacar.
“I’m super happy about today,” Del Toro said in the flash interview. “I did the recon some months ago, but I didn’t know until two days ago this was the same climb. It was nice to remember the recon with Tadej and super cool to have the victory with the team. It’s just insane. We fought for it and it’s just crazy nice, really. I cannot believe it.”
On the Grand Colombier on Saturday, Del Toro had bided his time, catching and passing his former teammate Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) with an attack on the upper reaches of the ascent. On Sunday, by contrast, he struck out early, attacking with 9km to go after his UAE squad had set a brisk tempo at the foot of the climb.
“We planned to have it all in order,” Del Toro said. “I know that after yesterday maybe everybody started to look at me, so Pavel [Sivakov], Kevin [Vermaerke], Pablo [Torres] and Benoit [Cosnefroy] did an incredible job today and Pablo launched me insanely well, so I just keep going until the final.
“Probably if I knew it was 8 or 9k to go, then I wouldn’t have gone. But I went with the flow and I’m super happy to manage it.”
Del Toro came home exactly a minute clear of Ayuso on the day, sealing the general classification by 54 seconds from Tuckwell. Another pre-race favourite, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), abandoned early on the stage after crashing on Saturday.
Full gas working for Pogacar in July
Del Toro succeeds his teammate Pogačar on the Dauphiné roll of honour, with the world champion skipping the race this year to make his debut at the Tour de Suisse, which gets under way on Wednesday.
“It means a lot to win it after him,” Del Toro said. “He has a lot of respect from my side, and I just want to be as happy as him on the bike. And yeah, I try to enjoy this. It’s incredible, insane. Another victory.”
Del Toro showcased his aptitude for Grand Tour racing by placing second overall at last year’s Giro d’Italia, losing the pink jersey on the penultimate day. This season, he is due to make his Tour debut, but he was adamant that there would be no leadership contest within the UAE ranks. Asked if he was ready to work for Pogačar in July, Del Toro was clear. “Full,” he smiled. “Full gas.”
Result: Critérium du Dauphiné stage 8
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