Isaac del Toro can't stop winning – and neither can UAE

If losing the Giro d’Italia on the penultimate day was a blow for Isaac del Toro, then he certainly hasn’t let it knock him off his stride. The Mexican has now claimed an astonishing ten victories in 21 race days since he returned to action after the Giro at the Tour of Austria in July.

Del Toro claimed a troika of stage wins in Austria along with overall victory, and he went on to rack up another hat-trick on Spanish roads, hoovering up the Clàssica Terres de l’Ebre, the Circuito de Getxo and the Vuelta a Burgos.

Over the past week, meanwhile, Del Toro has put together a triptych of wins in Italy. He started with the GP Industria & Artigianato last weekend and then added the Giro della Toscana on Wednesday before scorching to victory at the Coppa Sabatini in Peccioli on Thursday.

Del Toro sparked the winning move by attacking forcefully with 7km to go, and on the gently climbing finale in Peccioli, the result never looked remotely in doubt. Del Toro simply powered clear of breakaway companions Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Ben Granger (Mg.K Vis) to claim his 12th win of the season. He had previously won Milano-Torino in March and the Bormio stage of the Giro in May.

This winning effort also brings UAE Team Emirates-XRG ever closer to HTC’s all-time 2009 record of 85 victories. UAE’s running tally has now reached 83, and between Tadej Pogacar in Canada and the roster still in action at the Vuelta a España, they may well set a new record by the end of the week.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s haul of wins has been remarkable for its variety. They have won eight of the eleven week-long stage races in the WorldTour this season, 20 different UAE riders have won races this season, and they have hoovered up some seven stages on the Vuelta, despite the furore over Juan Ayuso’s imminent departure.

Their stable of talent includes Brandon McNulty, Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Jhonatan Narvaez, and the resources at their disposal raise obvious questions about the need for budget caps in professional cycling. But as things stand, UAE's all-terrains dominance looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

Del Toro might well make another contribution of his own in the coming days to his team's latest year of plenty. He is due to race again at the Trofeo Matteotti on Sunday and, on this form, he will line up among the favourites, even if the Pescara course has often smiled on fast finishers rather than attackers.

Del Toro confirmed earlier this week that he would ride the World Championships road race in Rwanda, where he is positioning himself among the chief rivals of the defending champion, his teammate Pogacar.

“Am I aiming for the Worlds in Kigali? The truth is, yes, but like many other cyclists,” Del Toro said earlier this week. “It’s not an easy race, but we’ll see if I can compete and at least be among the best.”

Whatever the result there, Del Toro has been among UAE’s best this season. Only Pogacar, with 17 victories, has weighed in with more victories for the team this year.