Tour of Italy | Giro d'Italia: A Mexican in pink

Cycling always leads to something new. The Giro d'Italia is currently adorned with the first Mexican to wear the pink jersey. Isaac Del Toro took the lead on Sunday with a fantastic ride over the gravel roads of Tuscany. He defended it confidently on Tuesday in the rain in Pisa. "The roads were wet, I didn't want to take any risks, but I still wanted to be fast," said the 21-year-old at the finish of the 28.6-kilometer time trial. Well, he kept the gap to his main rivals under a minute, with the exception of Primož Roglič, who started in drier conditions.

Juan Ayuso, alongside Roglič as the top favorite for this Giro, was also unable to significantly close the gap on Del Toro. The young Mexican is thus somewhat disrupting the pecking order of his UAE team. Ayuso was originally supposed to be the captain, with veteran Adam Yates serving as co-captain. "We're not expecting much from Del Toro at the moment. He should continue to get used to a Grand Tour, stay with Ayuso and Yates as long as possible, and of course help them. But we're not putting any pressure on him to achieve results," said sporting director Matxin Fernández to "nd."

Overall leadership instead of helping role

Del Toro has made great use of this freedom so far, with somewhat less attention to his secondary support role. On the gravel stage to Siena, he set a powerful pace while in the lead group, even though Ayuso was further back. In the two-man sprint, he then had to yield to Belgian Wout van Aert. Although he's a classics specialist, he's not currently in top form. Del Toro wasn't too upset about the missed opportunity for victory, though. "Van Aert was simply stronger," the Mexican said appreciatively.

Ayuso later took issue with his younger teammate's top performance. "We're friends," he assured the journalists. But most of the questions on the rest day weren't directed at him, the nominal boss, but at Del Toro. Ayuso then played with his cell phone, appearing deliberately disinterested. During the time trial, he was primarily focused on his teammate and quickly built up a large lead. Del Toro, however, held his own, paced the race well, and was able to enjoy another day in pink.

Training on Mexico's peaks

He hails from Mexico's west coast, about 100 kilometers south of the US metropolis of San Diego. He discovered his love of cycling at the age of seven. His father, Jo, was a cyclist, as is his older brother, Angel. As a teenager , he completed trips to altitudes of over 4,600 meters, including to Nevado de Toluca, the fourth-highest peak in Mexico. "I like pushing myself at altitude. I know how my body reacts. It allows me to push my heart and lungs to their limits," he told the "Gazzetta dello Sport."

At the age of 15, he came to Europe, to the small, relatively flat country of San Marino, located just under 800 meters above sea level. There, he was initially surprised by the high level of his peers, but quickly adapted. He probably didn't see much of Europe beyond racing. "We were like a submarine force," he said of his team at the time—we were together a lot, but isolated, and connected to the outside world primarily through the periscope of cycling races.

Who will succeed Pogačar?

Given his talent, Del Toro should have blossomed at the Tour de l'Avenir three years ago. However, he missed the 2022 Tour de France for juniors due to a crash injury. The following year, he clinched the overall victory after an impressive victory on the queen stage. Because he accomplished all of this almost single-handedly—his Mexican team was quite weak compared to Italy or Belgium—he quickly became known as the new Pogačar. Team UAE downplays such comparisons. "Tadej is unique. It's also super easy to win with him," teammate Rafal Majka told "nd."

But even with Del Toro, winning could come quite quickly in the future. Juan Ayuso, Spain's top talent who is a year older, will have to stretch himself at this Giro to avoid having to hand over the desired Pogačar succession to his teammate.