Despite going without their talisman Tadej Pogačar for the final Monument of the season at Il Lombardia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will still be starting with one of the strongest lineups, led by new World Champion Brandon McNulty and Mexican star Isaac del Toro.
The latter was fifth on debut last season, while the US rider hasn't raced the Autumn Classic since 2021, when he supported the Slovenian en route to his first of five consecutive wins, matching Fausto Coppi's 72-year-old record just 12 months ago.
With a stacked start list to contend with if they are to maintain the team's run of victories, UAE are also bringing former podium finisher Adam Yates to the start, alongside Jan Christen, Felix Großschartner, Domen Novak, and Pavel Sivakov.
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Their main rivals will include Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič (both Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike).
"We go into Lombardia as defending champions and we’ll have a clear goal to keep that title. The team is very strong and we have many options for victory," said Del Toro on the UAE team's website.
"Obviously Brandon is flying in the rainbows at the moment and personally I’m in good form also. The key will be to have numbers as deep into the race as possible and then play our cards on the road.
"We have a good feeling in the group and understand each other well, so it puts us in a strong position from the start. The rest will depend on the rivals."
Since Worlds, McNulty has brought his rainbow jersey to life with impressive, attacking performances at the Giro dell'Emilia, Coppa Agostoni, and Tre Valli Varesine, finishing 10th, second, and 23rd. And while he had been feeling the effects of his stunning solo win in Montreal, Del Toro's presence makes the opportunistic attack late in the finale just as possible as it was in Canada – but nothing can represent more of a target on one's back than the rainbow jersey itself.
But unfortunately for team boss Mauro Gianetti's men, they have one small issue in the form of an unknown knee problem for Del Toro, which he revealed at the start of Gran Piemonte on Thursday morning. It should become clear after the 185km 1.Pro race whether or not he has been significantly affected, hoping to carry the form which saw him attack Worlds as one of the main aggressors, eventually finishing fifth behind his trade teammate.
"[I'm] good, battling with the jet lag and also the knee pain, but hopefully now we will be OK. So let's see how the legs are, and of course we try to do our best today," Del Toro told CyclingProNet at the start in Asti.
Asked to clarify the knee issues, he said: "[It hurts] a little bit, I don't know why. After the travel, I started to have some troubles – I had the same bike, same shoes, same everything, but I don't know – just let's see how I am and, of course, in the race, hopefully I feel good and can do my job.
"I need to play alongside Johnny [Narváez] and Brandon [McNulty]; they both are flying on these types of parcours. Of course we need to play the cards well, and I need to be alongside them, but we'll see how the race develops and well try to do it."
22-year-old Del Toro extended his contract with UAE earlier this year until the end of 2031, signalling him as the Emirati squad's long-term leader after Pogačar, and after two incredible opening years on cycling's best team, he has only kicked on to bigger and better things in 2026.
He's managed GC victories at the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, took third on GC on debut at the Tour de France – while supporting the Slovenian to overall victory, and has won the GP de Montreal. Del Toro is expected to fill Pogačar's shoes when he eventually winds down his career, and he will have an early chance to taste some of that ultimate responsibility this weekend, as long as this knee pain doesn't turn into a bigger issue.
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