UAE boss warns against making Del Toro the condition for Vuelta a México comeback
UAE Team Emirates-XRG manager Joxean Fernández Matxín says the revival of Mexico’s national stage race should not depend on whether the Emirati team can send its home superstar.
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Isaac del Toro has emerged as Mexico’s biggest cycling star in decades. Not since Raúl Alcalá, who won Tour de France stages in 1989 and 1990 and finished eighth overall both years, has a Mexican rider made such an impact at the highest level.
His rise has added fresh momentum to plans to revive the Vuelta a México, last held in 2015. But while Del Toro could be a major draw for the race, UAE manager Matxín insists its return should not depend on whether he is on the start line.
“If they organise the race, we as a team will decide whether we go or not,” Matxín told ESPN Mexico. “But I don’t want Isaac del Toro to be used in the sense that if he doesn’t come, the race doesn’t happen. Isaac is not the one who decides whether he races.”
Matxín stressed that UAE would first decide whether the event fits into its programme. Rider selection would only come after that.
“He belongs to a team and the team decides whether to compete in a race,” he said. “Then we decide which riders go. The race should not depend on whether Isaac del Toro is there or not.”
Del Toro’s popularity was clear during the Tour de France, where Mexican supporters followed UAE throughout the race.
“I never had any doubt that the Mexican fans would get behind Isaac,” Matxín said. “When you have an emerging star like him in a sport that is not traditionally one of the biggest in Mexico, and one of the best riders in the world is Mexican, that is something to be proud of.”
For Matxín, however, the focus should extend beyond one rider.
“There has to be respect for Mexican cycling and for the many other quality Mexican riders,” he said. “Nobody should put pressure on Isaac by saying the race happens if he comes and doesn’t happen if he doesn’t.”
Why Mexico would be a major calendar commitment for UAE
Matxín said racing in Latin America can take close to three weeks out of a rider’s programme once travel and altitude adaptation are taken into account.
“To race at altitude in Mexico or Colombia means being there a week beforehand to adapt to the time difference and altitude, then you have the race itself, and after returning to Europe there is another period of adaptation,” he said. “So for one week of racing, you can effectively commit three.”
That makes the race’s place on the calendar crucial. “We first need to know the calendar and which races it clashes with,” Matxín added.
Mexican cycling officials are currently targeting January 2027 for the return of the Vuelta a México. Bernardo de la Garza, president of Mexico’s cycling federation, said in late July that preparations were progressing, although several details still need to be resolved. If the race cannot be put together in time, 2028 remains an alternative.
The ambition is to secure a UCI classification capable of attracting leading international teams. Earlier plans also raised the possibility of holding the race before the Tour Down Under, potentially allowing teams to combine it with an altitude training camp in Mexico.
UAE has not raced in Latin America since 2020, when it competed at the Vuelta a San Juan and Tour Colombia.
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