'I just want to be as happy as him on the bike' – Ominous signs for Tadej Pogačar's rivals as Tour de France lieutenant Isaac del Toro takes another step

Tadej Pogačar wasn't at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to defend his title from 12 months ago, but he would have watched on knowing he'd left it in good hands as Isaac del Toro dominated the final two stages to retain the yellow jersey for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

In less than three weeks, Del Toro will switch from spearhead to superdomestique at his debut Tour de France, where supporting and leading out Pogačar on the hardest climbs to a record-equalling fifth title will be his only focus

A heavy crash for Paul Seixas removed the chance to see the two young prospects fully battle it out, but on the one day the Frenchman did attack on stage 6, Del Toro was every bit his equal to Crest-Voland.

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It's an ominous sign for everyone he beat in southern France, but also for Pogačar's main rivals who weren't there: Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, with the world champion's right-hand man being strong enough to easily put away the likes of Juan Ayuso and Matteo Jorgenson.

"It’s something that puts peace in your mind when you are going in the right direction," said a modest Del Toro after the final stage on Sunday.

"I don’t want to push super hard in my mind. I just want to go a little bit more with the flow and see how things are for the Tour de France."

Starting the day with 46 seconds to make up on Australian revelation Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Del Toro went early on the final climb with 9km to go to the top, albeit not as planned, admitting that he decided to make his move once Pablo Torres started to run out of steam.

In Pogačar-esque fashion, though, he never looked in much difficulty, extending out a one-minute gap to Juan Ayuso by the time he reached the finish, smashing the previous climbing record to Solaison set by Vingegaard in 2022 by 1:34.

Was this his best climbing performance? "I think still not," said Del Toro, who didn't want to commit to saying he would definitely have more in the tank for the Tour.

"I don’t know, we will see, now I want to rest a bit and try be a little bit better or maintain my shape, then see how much I can be competitive in my head."

It's not the first time Del Toro has slightly played down a top-level performance, having also smashed the climbing record atop Jebel Hafeet in February at the UAE Tour. Again, he was asked if it was the best climbing performance of his career: "I will say no," he said.

So, in theory, it must have been at the Giro d'Italia that he finished second on debut in 2025? "No," he said again, "honestly, it comes on strange days, not even when I want."

A healthy partnership with Pogačar

It begs the question, if these dominant solo performances aren't the best Del Toro can produce, just what will his top form look like if he finds it during the Tour? That should become apparent in just under a month, but it most likely won't be for the victory.

Del Toro is committed to Pogačar's ambitions, and the pair share a good relationship as apprentice and master at UAE. From being messaged advice from the Slovenian during his Giro breakthrough, to working for him at Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, the Mexican champion simply said it was going to be "Full. Full gas" when he works for Pogačar at the Tour.

"He has a lot of respect by my side and I just want to be as happy as him on the bike," said Del Toro.

"He is 50-50 happy…" he added, describing Pogačar's communication to him during the week in France, an "internal joke" between the pair.

Having made history this week as the first rider to win Tirreno-Adriatico and the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné in the same season, Del Toro continued his stunning 2026 season, where he has taken a big step forward from the raw talent everyone saw first at the Tour de l'Avenir in 2023, and then at last year's Giro.

"For me these kind of races are super special. I will not put one above another, each one of them teach me something this year – what I want and what I don’t want as a cyclist," said Del Toro, who has won eight times in 2026, all at WorldTour level.

"It’s important to enjoy this. My first yellow jersey as a pro and it’s super nice."

It's also easy to forget that this was a comeback race for Del Toro, having crashed out of Itzulia Basque Country in March and missed the Ardennes due to a muscle injury. His Tour debut won't be one to miss, and after Seixas' crash, it's the Mexican who could be the frontrunner for the final podium spot, behind his leader and Vingegaard.

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