It's been a week since the end of the Tour of Italy and With a cool head, let's get back to talking about Isaac Del Toro, the man, or rather, the boy who in some ways has marked this Giro more than anyone else. And what happened on Colle delle Finestre was something incredible, powerful, and mysterious.
Imagine that during these days, even we, returning to base after the efforts of the Giro, walking the streets of the village, in a bar or out shopping, friends and acquaintances, knowing about our work, would ask us: "But why didn't the pink jersey follow 'that Englishman?'" "Why did the Mexican let him go?" To show how certain stories transcend borders. We tried to do an analysis even with the most experienced of sports directors, Giuseppe Martinelli.
Isaac speaks
Now we also report the words of Del Toro himself. He was still a little shaken when we met him in Rome after the podium at Caracalla: «What do I take away from this? I think I've learned to believe in myself and to do things well... and always with a smile. Of course. Everyone wants to change something, everyone has their own opinion, but now we can't change anything about this Giro anymore.
"All the decisions I've made over the past three months have brought me to this position. I'm 21 years old, and to become the rider I am, I did everything I had to do to the best of my ability. Obviously, I'm sad. The last day was difficult. But I have to be proud of what I've accomplished."
On Colle delle Finestre it wasn't just a question of legs, in short. UAE Emirates He told Del Toro to mark Carapaz and he did it. Then As Simon Yates was taking off, the instructions came to react to the Englishman's attack. But that's when his inexperience showed. Carapaz and Del Toro started bickering.
It seems that Del Toro said, in his exact words: «Okay, the race is lost but at least I'll save second place». The sprint in Sestriere and The compliments paid to Van Aert during the race, filmed as they completed the final climb, were not signs of someone who no longer had legs. Or at least he didn't even have the energy to try and defend himself.
UAE compact
One thing is certain: the team has not abandoned him and rather he understood that Pogacar's heir is Del Toro. Rafal Mayka He told us they were close to him. Adam Yates, not in great form, always supported him as much as he could, and the same goes for McNulty and everyone else. So much so that they all raced together around the Mexican.
«I'm especially sorry for my teammates – he continues Del Toro – They've always supported me. They've been there for me. That's all water under the bridge now. But I want to come back stronger. And also be more intelligent (again the Mexican used this word that we have heard him say since the day in Siena, when he took the pink jersey, ed.) than I have been in recent weeks.
Every day I felt more confident, even in the group. Losing hurts, but the good thing is that now I know I can do it. Now I know what he told me pogacar It might be true: that is, I can do it. I just need to stay calm, release the pressure, and enjoy the ride. I know I can fight to win a major Giro."
IMeanwhile, the team has learned that Del Toro will not play Return. But it is the modus operandi of the team of Mauro Gianetti: with young riders, you only do one Grand Tour a year at most. Consider that Pogacar himself only took on two at age 25, last year, when he achieved the Giro-Tour double.
Mexican Dream
However, and this is where the effects of the "Del Toro cyclone" are seen, Isaac did something huge, or rather, perhaps it would be better to say: he provoked it. A week after the Giro and a couple of exploits in the pink jersey, cycling in Mexico has awakened.
Forbes Mexico (biweekly finance and marketing magazine) highlighted the economic potential of cycling in a country of nearly 130 million inhabitants, underlining how Del Toro represents a diamond in the rough for the market. Isaac could trigger a boom in sales of technical equipment and, above all, open the doors to new TV rights agreements as already happens in the Andean countries. In fact, an increase in audience and sponsorships for free-to-air or paid competitions appears to be achievable thanks to the media interest surrounding the Mexican.
In this sense, the “Mexico Dream” is not just a sporting one but a strategic one: Del Toro, thanks to his numbers and charisma, could play a fundamental role in negotiating new media agreements between Europe and Central America. But above all, it could get a lot of kids on bikes. He had already mentioned something like this to us. Alejandro Rodriguez who is doing so much, with his team Monex, for the kids of his country. And Del Toro it comes right from there.
