'I'm satisfied with my effort, but I'm not happy at all' - Isaac del Toro does not hide disappointment at missing out on gold at World Championships

Isaac del Toro has expressed his deep disappointment at not taking home a better result from the 2026 Road World Championships after the Mexican kept himself in the fight all the way through to the finish, only to find that the medals remained tantalisingly out of reach.

In a year where Del Toro has already claimed third overall and a stage win in his Tour de France debut, two months later in the Canada World Championships, the 22-year-old went two spots better than his seventh place last year in Kigali, finishing fifth in Montreal on Sunday.

However, that was as good as it got for Del Toro and this was despite his playing a major role in chasing down the dangerous Mathieu van der Poel-inspired breakaway that was only reeled in in the closing 40 kilometres. The problem was that, try as he might, the recent GP Montréal winner subsequently could not break away in the crunch finale, and after Brandon McNulty (USA) took off alone, Del Toro found himself limited to fighting for the remaining medals on offer.

Furthermore, Del Toro rode the Worlds with five Mexican teammates, but his compatriots' experience at racing at the highest level of cycling ranged from very limited at best to non-existent. Two of them race for US Continental outfits, one is a member of a club back in Mexico and two are independent, unsponsored riders.

However, while he had nothing but praise for his compatriots and how they had ridden in such forbidding terrain, Del Toro said that he could not be happy with the final result he achieved.

"We've received an incredible amount of support, they didn't deserve anything less than a gold medal," Del Toro told ESPN MX after going on a walkabout at the finish to greet the huge crowd of Mexican fans chanting his nickname, Torito, Torito.

"That's what we came for, and that's what we tried to get."

"But the moment where I wanted to ease back a bit to then get into full-on racing mode was just when I found myself in a very complicated situation."

Del Toro's one mistake, he said, came very late on, when trade teammate Brandon McNulty had taken gold and the chasers were fighting for the last spots on the podium.

"I think it was clear that we came to win, I left it all out there, we tried everything, maybe I should have positioned myself better for that final sprint," Del Toro said to ESPN MX.

"So I'm satisfied with the effort, but I'm not happy at all. I'm not settling for this at all. We knew we could win and it's a pity I didn't do it."

Punching above their weight

Del Toro argued that the Mexican team, despite their limitations, had consistently punched above their collective weight. At the same time, whenever he tried to wrest the momentum more towards his favour, he found that other squads were able to make the most of his relative lack of top support - although that only motivated him and Mexico to come back stronger at the Worlds in the future.

"We were very decisive and I'm happy with the race we did, we raced very well as a nation. We didn't win but we took a good step forward in terms of our group mentality and our ambitions for these kinds of races," he said.

"And if all the peloton raced a little against us or used the fact we didn't have the best team, I think we're going to battle all the more next year."

As for the 2026 Worlds, Del Toro recognised that when it came to chasing down a move powered by riders as strong and in form as Quinn Simmons (USA), Van der Poel and Primoz Roglič (Slovenia), it was only feasible by going all in. As he told ESPN MX "I didn't want the gold medal to get away from me."

"Finally, though, it was very difficult for me to keep going and I think I ran fifth, unfortunately, so it's a bittersweet taste. We have to go on fighting."

Regarding his trade teammate and his breakaway victory, Del Toro said that as a rider who devoted a lot of time working very hard for others, McNulty was a deserving winner. But that didn't mean his own personal ambitions to claim the jersey were any less strong for that.

"I could be arrogant and say I want the rainbow for me," Del Toro told ESPN MX. "But even if I'm happy for him because I know him a bit, I also know that Mexico came here to win."

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