Isaac del Toro has written a historic page in Mexican cycling by winning the Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes, the French stage race in which the young rider from UAE Emirates XRG triumphed in the last two stages. His extraordinary performance concluded with his second stage victory today, following yesterday's success with the finish at Grand Colombier, where he still had a 42" gap from Luke Tuckwell, the general classification leader.

Del Toro, who raced wearing the Mexican national champion's jersey, has demonstrated he is in great form and is now preparing for the Tour de France, where he will have the task of supporting Tadej Pogacar who will race with a single objective: to win his fifth Grande Boucle. Del Toro's victory comes at a particularly significant moment for Mexico, which is experiencing the beginning of the World Cup, with some matches taking place in the country.

After the victory, the twenty-two-year-old from Ensenada shared his joy and emotion at having triumphed thanks to excellent teamwork: «It's fantastic to have won with this team. It's incredible. We fought for this and it's a wonderful feeling – the Mexican commented –. Really, it's beautiful. I can't believe it. We had decided that we would aim to win this race and that's what we did by all working together».

Reflecting on the race strategy, he added: «We had only one objective in mind today: to win the stage and take home the yellow jersey. The plan went exactly as we had imagined it. After yesterday, maybe everyone started to look at me. Today my teammates did extraordinary work and in the end they launched me with an incredible push and then I just had to keep pushing until the finish line».

When Del Toro was asked if he would have attacked knowing how much distance remained to the finish, he replied: «Probably if I had known there were 8 or 9 km left, I wouldn't have attacked. I let myself be carried away and I'm very happy with what we did».

Regarding the victory, the young Mexican couldn't contain his joy, especially because last year on these roads his captain Tadej Pogacar had won. «Yes, Tadej won last year and so the fact that I won this year really means a lot to me, but not only because I won after him. He has a lot of respect for me, and I just want to be as happy when he races and when we're at the Tour de France I'll give everything to help him».

With his extraordinary performances, Del Toro has put Mexico in the spotlight just as the national football team is trying to shine at the World Cup. «Yes, I want to say, it's really fantastic. With my country's flag on my jersey, it's crazy to do this kind of thing. I can't even imagine doing less and I feel proud».

The cyclist concluded with a message of optimism and determination: «It's a very positive feeling for me, racing representing my country. I feel very fulfilled by this and it's also an extra boost to my work».

Isaac del Toro's victory at the Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes is not just a personal success, but a triumph for all of Mexico, which had never had such a strong rider. While the country continues to cheer for its national football team that won the opening match against South Africa, it can now also celebrate a cycling hero, ready to write new pages of history at the Tour de France.