{"id":2025675,"date":"2026-07-03T12:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T09:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2025675"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T09:51:19","slug":"isaac-del-toro-could-blow-the-tour-de-france-apart-even-pogacar-thinks-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2025675","title":{"rendered":"Isaac del Toro Could Blow the Tour de France Apart \u2014 Even Poga\u010dar Thinks So"},"content":{"rendered":"
Everyone keeps asking Tadej Poga\u010dar about Jonas Vingegaard.<\/p>\n
The four-time Tour de France winner couldn\u2019t stop talking about Isaac del Toro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he (Vingegaard) is the only one who can come close,\u201d Poga\u010dar said in a pre-race press conference. \u201cThere are a few guys here who can aim for the victory, including this guy next to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not how Tour favorites usually talk about their helpers.<\/p>\n
While everyone is going crazy over Paul Seixas, Poga\u010dar seems convinced Del Toro could be the rookie who blows this race apart.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old arrives in Barcelona on a tear. He won the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico this spring after finishing second at last year\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n
Then he capped it by crushing the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes last month.<\/p>\n
Ever humble, \u201cEl Torito\u201d \u2014 the little bull \u2014 said he\u2019s only thinking about helping Poga\u010dar chase a record-tying fifth yellow jersey.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a huge dream to know I\u2019ll be at the start of the Tour, and with the best team in the world, trying to help Tadej. I feel privileged,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cI can hardly believe the person I\u2019m becoming over these years, and to be honest, I\u2019m very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping Poga\u010dar will help Del Toro<\/h2>\nDel Toro and Poga\u010dar make a fearsome tandem. <\/span> (Photo: DAVID PINTENS \/ BELGA MAG \/ Belga \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Isaac del Toro is part of a scary strong UAE team, but the Slovenian doesn\u2019t sound like he\u2019s planning on keeping Del Toro on a leash.<\/p>\n
A stage win or the white jersey isn\u2019t out of the question. And if Peak Pog dominates like everyone expects, who knows what else might happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an important year for me. I\u2019ll try to learn from the critical moments and contribute whatever I can for Tadej,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cStarting the Tour is what I\u2019ve always hoped for ever since I started cycling. I\u2019m excited, and a bit nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some fans wish Del Toro was leading his own team instead of riding shotgun for Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n
The irony is that racing with Poga\u010dar instead of against him<\/em> could actually improve his chances.<\/p>\n
If he\u2019s the last rider climbing beside Poga\u010dar deep into the Alps and Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es, he\u2019ll already be high on GC.<\/p>\n
Making Mexican history<\/h2>\n
Del Toro mania is also buzzing in Mexico and dozens of fans cheered him during Thursday\u2019s team presentation in the shadow of the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia.<\/p>\n
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Mexico hasn\u2019t had a Tour starter since Miguel Arroyo in 1997. And no Mexican has won a Tour stage since Ra\u00fal Alcal\u00e1 won in 1989 and again in 1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait for it to start, and I\u2019m going to try to give it my all over these three weeks,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cIt will be a tough race and tactics will be crucial every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seixas might be getting all the hype, but don\u2019t be surprised if he ends up with the better Tour.<\/p>\n
Asked what he hoped would happen over the next three weeks, Poga\u010dar didn\u2019t mention a fifth Tour title.<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Isaac wins the Tour de France.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284362856.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated July 3, 2026 07:15AM Everyone keeps asking Tadej Poga\u010dar about Jonas Vingegaard. The four-time Tour de France winner couldn\u2019t stop talking about Isaac del Toro. \u201cI don\u2019t think he (Vingegaard) is the only one who can come close,\u201d Poga\u010dar said in a pre-race press conference. \u201cThere are a few […]<\/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-2025675","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\/2025675","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=2025675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025675\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2025675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2025675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2025675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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