
Isaac Del Toro is a predestined rider. He is one of those rare cyclists whose talent began to show early: at just 21 years old, he wore the pink jersey for 12 days and in the end climbed to the second step of the podium behind an experienced rider like Yates, but took home the white jersey for best young rider.
"For me, being in Rome today is an incredible emotion. In the end, I'm a guy who came to this Giro where no one thought I would make the podium. The team always believed in me, the guys and the team were always close to me and all this is incredible and it's nice to feel the warmth of the public".
Probably Del Toro made some important mistakes, but in the end he is a young rider who still has much to learn both in terms of strategy and race management.
"Being so close to winning a grand tour is something I learned day by day. I don't know how many days I spent in the pink jersey, but it was something incredible. I think I learned to believe in myself and do things well, always with a smile and enjoying myself on the bike".
Isaac Del Toro lost the pink jersey the day before the Giro arrived in Rome for the final stage. It's difficult to accept a defeat when victory is so close, but the Mexican, even if he knows he made mistakes, is not too disappointed and knows there will be other opportunities.
"I think everyone wants to change something about what happened on Saturday. Of course, only Simon Yates doesn't want to change anything, and that's fine. But on my part, obviously, I would like to change something, but this belongs to the past. Everyone has a logic and good reasons to express their opinion about what happens. But when you find yourself in a stage like the Colle delle Finestre, you have to make a decision quickly, and that's what I did. All the decisions I made in the last three weeks brought me to this result. I'm 21 years old and I believe that being in the team where I am and all the things I did are something I should be proud of. Sure, it's sad to lose the pink jersey on the last day, but I must be proud of what I did every day. I'll be happy to come back, stronger mentally and more intelligent than I was in the last few weeks".
Del Toro completed his first grand tour, but he knows that now he must look immediately to the future and learn from what he experienced in the last three weeks.
"All teams have a good reason to enjoy themselves during the race and I also enjoyed myself and this is important and I gained more confidence. I need to enjoy the sport and not feel pressure like I'm in a boxing ring. I want to grow and achieve important goals, but at the same time I also want to continue enjoying myself while I race".