Isaac Del Toro is trying to keep the pressure at bay, but over the next three weeks in Canada, he will be among those under close scrutiny. In the meantime, he'll be able to get familiar with the roads thanks to the Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal, then, in two weeks, he'll try to bring his Mexico a historic rainbow jersey.

The absence of his captain Pogačar opens up an opportunity that, for now, appears more unique than rare: "When I saw him crash, I felt pretty sh*tty about it. Seeing a friend of yours suffering like that is never pleasant - admits Del Toro -. I hope he can come back soon. I wished him a speedy recovery but then we didn't talk anymore, it's right that he enjoys some peace and distance from racing. The race will definitely change, especially from a tactical point of view, but in the end, as always, it will come down to legs. The statistics speak for themselves, when he's not there the race always explodes a bit later. I imagine it will be the same this time".

The young Mexican seems to have recovered well from the Tour's efforts. After a brief rest period ("even though I never left the bike") and a trip to the Tour de France Femmes to cheer on his girlfriend Romina Hinojosa, the first Mexican ever to participate in the Grande Boucle, he returned at the Tour of Germany winning and dominating.

"The Tour was more or less a confirmation of what I expected and what the team wanted. I wouldn't say my confidence grew after the podium, you have to be aware that you can do it. But I was certainly happy with the result. In Germany I went well, I'm actually able to control the recovery phases better. I don't think I'm stronger than I was in February in absolute terms, but experience grows. So I hope to find some good days here in Canada".

Tonight at the Quebec GP anything can happen, the course is less selective and the odds are more open. In Montréal, on the other hand, you won't be able to hide, because usually the strongest wins. "I'll try to be there fighting, as a team we're very ambitious here - Del Toro continues -. We'll have to move intelligently. I as always will try to win both, but we'll see how it goes. A tight sprint finish? Sprints are always tricky, but if I'm in the right position and the context allows it, I'll give it a go, why not. I think the Worlds could come out a bit tougher compared to the Montréal GP, because when there's a rainbow jersey at stake everything changes. We'll be with our National teams, so tactics and team hierarchies will be different. I don't consider myself the favorite. There are several strong teams, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy... it's hard to point out the strongest".

Then from a few days ago comes the news that the former pink jersey renewed with UAE Team Emirates-XRG until 2031. The signal, for those who hadn't already understood, of the very long-term project the Emirati team is building with him. "The right question to ask would be 'why shouldn't I have signed?'. I'm doing great here, I like the people, the environment is positive and pushes me to always raise the bar higher. I'm growing, my level is rising, but at the same time the team doesn't rush me and doesn't push me to do things I don't feel ready for yet".

Photo: James Startt/GPCQM