‘We will miss Tadej’ - Del Toro admits he would rather have raced Pogacar in Montréal

“Actually, I would prefer Tadej to be here,” Del Toro said in an interview with the UCI ahead of the race. “I always like when the strongest rider in the world is in the race, and for sure we will miss Tadej.”

Pogačar will not defend the world title he won in 2024 and 2025 after his season was ended by a crash at the Vuelta a España. The Slovenian suffered a broken collarbone, concussion and a stable cervical fracture, ruling him out for the remainder of 2026.

His absence changes the complexion of Sunday’s race and also places more attention on Del Toro, whose rapid rise has continued since his breakthrough Giro d’Italia last year.

On his Giro debut at 21, Del Toro took the pink jersey after stage nine and held it until the final mountain stage. He also won stage 17 before Simon Yates overturned the race on the Colle delle Finestre, leaving the Mexican second overall and winner of the young rider classification.

He carried that momentum into the rest of 2025 and has stepped up again this season. Del Toro opened 2026 by winning the UAE Tour and followed that with overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.

His Tour de France debut provided another marker of his progress. Del Toro won stage two in Barcelona, becoming the first Mexican Tour stage winner in 36 years, then finished third overall in Paris and took home the white jersey as the race’s best young rider.

He later won the Deutschland Tour and arrived at the World Championships in strong form, having also beaten Paul Seixas to victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal earlier this month.

That form carried into last weekend’s World Championship time trial, where Del Toro finished sixth. Rather than seeing his season as a constant physical progression, however, he believes the bigger change has been elsewhere.

“My level is the same from January,” he said. “It’s not growing every month. It’s just having more maturity.”

That maturity could prove important on Sunday. Mexico does not have the depth of some of the larger nations, meaning Del Toro knows he cannot rely on his team to control a 273 kilometre World Championship road race.

“Everybody wants to do a good first attempt on Sunday,” he said. “It will be important for us because we don’t have the strongest team, so we need to be really, really smart.”

He was understandably less forthcoming about exactly what that might mean once the race gets underway.

“I can say my plan, but maybe it changes,” he said.

What has changed considerably is Del Toro’s place within the sport. A year ago, his Giro performance established him as one of cycling’s brightest young talents. His results since have turned him into a rider expected to contend in the biggest races.

Del Toro appears determined not to let that expectation change his approach.

“It’s always nice to be at the top, but I don’t go crazy in the head,” he said. “I know I need to be more professional and take it serious.”

There is an added significance to racing for the rainbow jersey in Canada. For Del Toro, a Mexican racing primarily in Europe, Montréal offers the rare prospect of significant support from closer to home.

“A lot of people are travelling to come to this race,” he said. “It’s nearest to my country, and they make me feel really privileged. I don’t feel like I’m someone, but they make me feel different.”

If Del Toro can turn that support into victory on Sunday, he would become Mexico’s first elite men’s road world champion and add the biggest result yet to his rapid rise through the sport.