If Tadej Pogačar's devastating performance on Alpe d'Huez had already provided one resounding answer to concerns and rumours about UAE Team Emirates-XRG's collective state of health at the Tour de France, his teammate Isaac del Toro provided another on the same climb as he gapped Paul Seixas, his archrival for third, close to the line.
The Mexican racer has had an uneven few days, getting gapped on one climb early on stage 16 by the peloton and by other UAE riders like Adam Yates, Tim Wellens, and Brandon McNulty, who had to abandon due to illness.
Pogačar even dedicated his win to his teammates in tribute to their fightback from their difficult situation, and the sight of Del Toro gapping Seixas (Decathlon CGM CMN) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) near the summit was yet more evidence UAE are now back on track.
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While unable to match Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) when the Belgian powered away late on, Del Toro has strengthened his grip on third by another four seconds on Seixas, while the more distant threat of Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), who lost another three minutes, has now evaporated.
Del Toro remains in third, making it increasingly likely that three years after Pogačar and Adam Yates finished in second and third place in Paris behind Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), UAE may well have another double podium to celebrate.
"It went really well for us," Del Toro told Eurosport after the stage, "Tadej could finish it off really well, and the team performed brilliantly. This is my first-ever ascent of Alpe d'Huez, and I'm very happy with how it went."
He confirmed that after the tough few days for UAE, things were now back on the up.
"We kept pushing each other and motivating each other; we've been there for three weeks now for each other," Del Toro said. "The vibe in the team is extremely positive."
Just one major stage remains, and Del Toro says he expects things to play out very similarly to stage 19.
"I don't expect it to be that different," he said. "Maybe it'll be more complicated in terms of the breakaway and how we handle that, but overall, I'm expecting more of the same."
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