'I'm a very privileged guy' - Del Toro gets off the mark at Tour with Pogacar's blessing

Isaac del Toro thundered to victory on stage 2 of the Tour de France in Barcelona with a little help from his UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader Tadej Pogacar.

When the Mexican set out in pursuit of Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) ahead of the final kick to the line, his primary duty was to tee up Pogacar for his inevitable onslaught. But Del Toro succeeded in opening a small gap over the rest and Pogacar decided to police affairs behind rather than chase victory for himself.

In the closing metres, Pogacar checked repeatedly over his shoulder on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), but he resisted the temptation to rip past Del Toro, preferring to cross the line in second place with his arms in the air.

“It means really everything,” Del Toro said on crossing the line. “I said before, I’m a very privileged guy. You cannot believe how much we work as a team to be here. I got plenty of confidence from the whole team, really. 

“This is the work of everybody – my family, my friends when I grew up... I cannot believe what I just did and this is just insane. 

“I really also appreciate Tadej. Being the same team as him and on the best team in the world is just really full emotions. You cannot believe how it feels now for me, especially for my country. Everything what’s going on is just insane, really. Thanks to my teammates.”

UAE had dictated terms and conditions throughout the three laps of the finishing circuit over the climb of Montjuïc, with Brandon McNulty delivering an MVP performance to whittle down the front group, while Adam Yates was prominent on the final time up the climb.

Del Toro was a little off the front positions when he crested Montjuïc for the last time with 2.5km to go, perhaps because he had expended considerable energy chasing back after a puncture and a slow bike change with 60km to go.

On the drop over the other side, however, Del Toro returned to the fore and he then stormed clear on the final rise to the line near Barcelona’s Olympic stadium.

“We were going super fast and we predicted this coulda happen,” Del Toro said afterwards, acIn the top of the climb, I was not able to be in the top position, so then I was able to almost pass to try to bring back Skjelmose. We made a plan for Tadej, and I did it. But at the end, the gap was bigger, so I just went with the flow to the finish line.”

Del Toro showcased his strength in the finale here, but he acknowledged that the win was also a product of Pogacar’s largesse. 

“These kinds of opportunities almost never come, and I’m super proud to be able to have the level to manage this kind of situation,” said Del Toro, who now lies fourth overall, 16 seconds behind the yellow jersey Vingegaard and 10 seconds down on Pogacar.

Del Toro is the first Mexican to win a stage of the Tour since Raúl  Alcalá in 1990. His flying start to his Tour career – and his recent overall victory at the Dauphiné – are coinciding with a heady time in Mexican sport. 

On Sunday evening, Mexico take on England at the Estadio Azteca with a place in the World Cup quarterfinals at stake. Del Toro smiled at the idea that his win might be an omen.

“We have these 11 guys ripping it in the football, but it’s just insane,” Del Toro said. “They are doing amazing, and to be at the same level here in France in the hardest race ever is like a dream.”