Isaac Del Toro becomes first Mexican rider to win Tirreno-Adriatico  

Isaac Del Toro controlled the waves to become the first Mexican rider to win Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday.

Del Toro had already started to show a fine form entering the race, having already won the UAE Tour and finishing on the podium in Strade Bianche.  

But his win in one of the sport’s major one-week stage races shows how much he’s seeking to cast himself as one of the fiercest up-and-coming contenders in professional cycling. 

Head-to-head GC battle 

Tirreno-Adriatico proved to be a battlefield of the best as the competition for the overall lead was too close for anyone to keep for long.  

The Maglia Azzurra was first won by INEOS Grenadiers’ Filippo Ganna after a commanding win on the individual time trial stage before UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s Del Toro quipped it on stage two. 

It was his until home favourite Giulio Pellizzari of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe snatched it on stage four.  

Then Del Toro laid down the marker to steal it from Pellizzari the day after. 

He managed to seal the general classification victory on the penultimate stage from San Severino Marche to Camerino on Saturday where he also won. By then he had put a 42 second gap from Pellizzari.  

While Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan sprinted to a stage victory on Sunday, Del Toro safely finished within the peloton to secure his first trident trophy.  

Mexican pride for Del Toro 

Team Visma – Lease a Bike also found redemption after a lacklustre performance on the first few stages, with Matteo Jorgenson quipping Pellizzari to finish second in the GC rankings.  

Pellizzari, who is Del Toro’s close friend-turned-rival, finished third with a mere two-second gap from Jorgenson.  

“I’m super happy to get this victory with the team. I’ve been coming here for the last three years and I’m very proud of the achievements with team,” Del Toro said in a press conference reported by FloBikes.  

He also celebrated the fact that he became the first Mexican winner of the Tirreno-Adriatico. 

“It’s super nice to be the first Mexican winner of Tirreno Adriatico. People back home support me like crazy, they start to understand the sport.” 

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Looming Milan-Sanremo battle 

Tirreno-Adriatico also paved the way for Alpecin–Premier Tech’s Mathieu van der Poel to test his legs ahead of the Milan-Sanremo race on March 21, the first Monument race of the year.

He showed a brilliant form when he cruised to victory on stage two in an astounding battle with rivals, rain, and the signature gravel chaos.  

He went on to win stage four in a sprint masterclass, besting a group of 14 riders, one of which was his long-time rival Wout van Aert.  

The two of them were seen trying to match each other’s power and responding to attacks throughout the latter part of the race, though van der Poel eventually had the upper hand.  

Del Toro had also taken notice of van der Poel’s strength and said he was ready to be a good teammate to captain Tadej Pogačar when they meet up again in Milan-Sanremo – a sign of his own versatility when it came to changing roles in professional cycling.  

“I’ve been in Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel more than often this week, maybe that will help in Milano-Sanremo,” he said.  

“I’ll be racing it for Tadej [Pogačar] and not looking for a result for myself. There won’t be Jhonathan Narvaez not Tim Wellens, so I want to do a great job as a team-mate.” 

“I enjoy to be this kind of guy who can switch roles and I want to learn as fast as I can.” 

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