{"id":1875197,"date":"2026-04-09T07:25:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1875197"},"modified":"2026-04-09T07:25:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:25:52","slug":"del-toro-and-pidcock-face-uncertain-futures-ahead-of-the-ardennes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1875197","title":{"rendered":"Del Toro and Pidcock Face Uncertain Futures Ahead of the Ardennes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tom Pidcock and Isaac del Toro are stuck on the sidelines just 10 days before they\u2019re scheduled to take favorites status in the Ardennes classics.<\/p>\n
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Mexican sensation Del Toro crashed and tore a muscle Wednesday at Itzulia Basque Country, and it\u2019s unknown when he will next race.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s been no news on Pidcock for a week after he smashed his knee in a horror fall late last month.<\/p>\n
The presense or absense of these two young stars could totally reshape the racing later this month at Amstel Gold Race, La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n
These two Gen-Zs are among the extreme few riders who could challenge Tadej Poga\u010dar and Paul Seixas in this trilogy of grueling races that are so well suited to their skillset.<\/p>\n
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Del Toro tears muscle in Basque spill<\/h2>\nIsaac del Toro crashed out of Itzulia after starting the race as a favorite. (Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Del Toro suffered a heavy fall early in stage 3 of Itzulia Basque Country on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He was conscious and attempted to ride on after he and several others fell in an off-camera spill, but soon called it quits.<\/p>\n
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After an off-key start to the race, Del Toro had little hope of challenging the rampant Seixas and so had little to push on for.<\/p>\n
UAE Emirates-XRG later updated that the 22-year-old suffered a \u201ca right thigh muscle tear, and several related abrasions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team had no further update for Velo<\/em> when contacted Thursday afternoon. The severity of the tear and a timeline for recovery are unclear.<\/p>\n
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The moment Isaac Del Toro withdrew from Stage 3 of Itzulia Basque Country \u2014 we wish you a swift recovery, Isaac \ud83d\ude4f pic.twitter.com\/5fLgV2yJ2q<\/p>\n
\u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 8, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
It could prove a costly setback for Del Toro, who\u2019s scheduled to ride the full \u201cArdennes Triple\u201d of Amstel, Fl\u00e8che, and Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n
The former arrives on April 19, just 11 days after his crash.<\/p>\n
Del Toro ran riot through the early-season with huge GC wins at UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico.<\/p>\n
He was expected to be playing top dog for his debuts at Amstel and Fl\u00e8che before reverting to bottle boy for Poga\u010dar in the Slovenian\u2019s title defense at Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n
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No news on Pidcock after ravine crash<\/h2>\nPidcock took Poga\u010dar to the line in a dramatic finale of Milan-San Remo. (Photo: Getty Images).<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Pidcock was touted to be one of the very few who could challenge Team UAE\u2019s deadly duo in Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n
The Brit won Amstel Gold Race in 2024 and pushed Poga\u010dar to the limit last month at Milan-San Remo.<\/p>\n
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His appearance at all three Ardennes races is in doubt after he damaged bone and ligaments in his knee when he fell down a ravine at Volta a Catalunya.<\/p>\n
Team Pinarello-Q36.5 told Domestique<\/em> last week they\u2019re being extra conservative with their lead star in his long build toward the Tour de France.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no firm idea or understanding when he will be back on a bike or racing at the moment,\u201d team boss Doug Ryder told Domestique<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d rather be a bit more cautious. The knee has many joints and facets to it, so you\u2019ve got to be quite cautious around that. We\u2019re being cautious to make sure that he has a good recovery, and we don\u2019t push it too early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Velo<\/em> reached out to Pinarello-Q36.5 for an update on Thursday but is yet to hear back.<\/p>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2267696479-2-scaled-e1775741972590.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated April 9, 2026 07:40AM Tom Pidcock and Isaac del Toro are stuck on the sidelines just 10 days before they\u2019re scheduled to take favorites status in the Ardennes classics. Mexican sensation Del Toro crashed and tore a muscle Wednesday at Itzulia Basque Country, and it\u2019s unknown when he will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1875197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1875197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875197\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1875197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1875197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1875197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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