'I won't know until I push myself to the limit' - Del Toro gives update on knee injury

The Mexican was speaking to L’Équipe at ASO’s Singapore Criterium exhibition race, where he was the first rider across the line at the weekend. Del Toro had revealed the knee injury after placing a disappointing 28th at Il Lombardia, his final race of a season that yielded 12 victories.

“We’re trying to look after it as best we can,” Del Toro told L’Équipe. 

“Getting back into training is going quite well so far, but we have to take it step by step. I won’t know if it’s really okay until I push myself to the limit, and that’s the problem. But it’s been going on for three years now, so I think it won’t affect me.”

UAE Team Emirates-XRG promised Del Toro they would help him resolve the knee problem after the Il Lombardia disappointment and he has reportedly seen Dr. Stefano Teramo, an orthopaedic and sports trauma specialist based in Catalonia, Spain. 

In the wide-ranging interview, Del Toro also acknowledged that the World Championships in Montreal was a missed opportunity to win the rainbow jersey given the absence of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Tadej Pogačar.

Del Toro lined up among the favourites for the Worlds after claiming a fine victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal two weeks previously. He impressed every time the road climbed at the Worlds, raced aggressively but then faded on the final lap and had to settle for fifth place as another UAE teammate, Brandon McNulty, soloed to victory.

“It wasn’t a complete waste, but I feel as though I didn’t make the most of the opportunity,” Del Toro said. 

“Everyone knows it was a huge chance to win the title. It was a first for me and I cracked. I just couldn’t pull it off. But looking back, I know I couldn’t have done any better and that I rode in the way that felt right to me. I’ll give it another go.”

Del Toro had beaten Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) in a two-up sprint at the GP de Montréal, and the two youngsters would also joust repeatedly on the climb of Voie Camillien-Houde. 

Like Del Toro, Seixas struggled on the final lap, placing 15th after suffering from cramp, but he responded by soloing to victory at Il Lombardia two weeks later. 

While Pogačar remains, by a distance, the best rider in the world, Del Toro and the 20-year-old Seixas might become a defining rivalry in the seasons ahead. Del Toro placed third overall and won the white jersey of best young rider in his debut Tour de France this summer, while Seixas took fourth place in Paris.

“He’s a brilliant rider who does everything he can to succeed as quickly as possible, and I think that’s a good thing because it pushes everyone to show their own determination,” Del Toro said of Seixas.

“As for the rivalry… If you want one for social media, you’ll get one, but it doesn’t depend on him or me. We’ll obviously be racing together a lot, but I just see him as someone else I have to beat, just like Remco [Evenepoel], Jonas [Vingegaard], [Tom] Pidcock, [Matteo] Jorgenson… In any case, he’s a nice guy, and it’s good that he’s here because he makes the sport even tougher.”