Tour de France debutant Del Toro wins stage two
Isaac del Toro (right) is only the second rider from Mexico to win a Tour de France stage
- Published
Debutant Isaac del Toro claimed victory on stage two of the Tour de France as Jonas Vingegaard retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Mexico's Del Toro, 22, crossed the line just ahead of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG colleague Tadej Pogacar, after accelerating on the short, steep climb to the finish at Montjuic, Spain.
Remco Evenepoel finished third, with Vingegaard fourth in the same time as the leading duo at the end of a hilly 168.5km route from Tarragona to Barcelona.
"It means really everything. I said before I'm a very privileged guy - you can not believe how much we work as a team to be here," said Del Toro.
"This is the work of everybody - my family, my friends growing up. I cannot believe I just did this attempt, it's just insane. Also to appreciate being in the same team as Tadej, the best in the world, it's really [the] full emotions.
"I was not able to be in the top position [on the last climb] but I was able to pass and try and bring back [Mattias] Skjelmose. We made a plan for Tadej - I did it but then the gap was bigger and I just went with the flow to the finish line.
"These kind of opportunities come almost never and I am super proud to have been able to manage this situation."
While the opening team time trial was all about the success of Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike team, the conclusion to Sunday's stage allowed four-time champion Pogacar and his UAE team to underline their strength.
The Slovenian took six bonus seconds to move up to second in the general classification behind his great rival Vinegaard, who won the Tour in 2022 and 2023.
He could easily have reduced Vingegaard's overall advantage to just two seconds had he not instead decided to allow Del Toro to take the glory at the finish in a move that will almost certainly boost team morale.
Tom Pidcock was the highest-placed British rider in a group of nine, three seconds adrift of the leading quartet, but he is already one minute down on GC.
On Monday, the race will feature 3,850 metres of climbing in a mountainous 195.9km run from Granollers to Les Angles as the Tour crosses the Pyrenees into France - but a forest wildfire means organisers have scaled back operations and asked the public not to gather along the route or at the finish line.
Stage two results
1. Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3hrs 40mins 01secs
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) Same time
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) "
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) "
5. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl - Trek) +3secs
6. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) Same time
7. Romain Gregoire (Fra/Groupama - FDJ United) "
8. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain Victorious) "
9. Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon CMA CGM Team) "
10. Tom Pidcock (GB/Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling) "
General classification
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4hrs 01mins 48secs
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +6secs
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +15secs
4. Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +16secs
5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/Lidl-Trek) +19secs
6. Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon CMA CGM Team) +42secs
7. Romain Gregoire (Fra/Groupama - FDJ United) +44secs
8. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +45secs
9. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain Victorious) +53secs
10. Tom Pidcock (GB/Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling)
