'I was very scared' - Del Toro admits nerves with Alpe d'Huez crowds as he extends lead over Seixas
The Mexican champion picked up six crucial seconds on Alpe d'Huez, extending his advantage over Paul Seixas in their duel for third overall and the white jersey.
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Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was all smiles at the summit of Alpe d’Huez after producing another composed ride to strengthen his grip on third place overall in the Tour de France.
It was another memorable day for the Emirati team. While Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) stormed to victory on Alpe d'Huez with a record-breaking ascent of the iconic climb, Del Toro was engaged in his own duel behind.
As Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) set the pace among the chasing riders, Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) launched an attack, and Del Toro responded calmly. The UAE rider managed to distance Seixas and crossed the line seventh, 2:41 behind his victorious teammate.
Ultimately, the Mexican champion picked up six more seconds over Seixas, extending his advantage over the 19-year-old to 24 seconds in the contest for third overall and the white jersey, against his fellow Tour debutant.
Del Toro admitted that racing up Alpe d'Huez was a daunting experience, with the thousands of spectators who lined the roads.
"It was an incredible first experience," he said. "Honestly, in the final I was very scared. I don't know why, some corners were a little bit more sharp. I passed some scary moments, but I'm super happy."
The stage was not without incident though, as Einer Rubio (Movistar) was forced to abandon the Tour after crashing into the back of a UAE car which was forced to brake heavily due to spectators.
Del Toro knows the job is far from done, with stage 20 featuring three Hors catégorieclimbs that make up part of over 5,600 metres of elevation gain, and he anticipates even more chaos.
"Yeah, for sure it will be a great battle tomorrow still. Two days left in the Tour, so we will see who wins."
"More or less the same as today. Maybe a little bit more chaos," he predicted. "We still don't know in the beginning, maybe a little bit more tricky. But yeah, we will see. At the end it will be similar to today."
Result: Tour de France stage 19
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