The Simon Yates lesson that Isaac del Toro must learn from unforgettable Giro d’Italia

The Mexican phenom emerged as the sport’s future, but the romantic race provided a throwback to reward both patience and experience in a thrilling final weekend to the grand tour

Isaac del Toro finished second on his Giro debut as Simon Yates claimed a maiden win at the race (REUTERS)

One year on from Tadej Pogacar’s demolition job of the competition at his maiden Giro d’Italia, another young climber was having his moment in the sun. The comparisons were inevitable as soon as Isaac Del Toro appeared on the scene: lean, explosive, with a natural gift for spotting his moment, an obvious thrill for racing.

But as the Mexican progressed through this Giro d’Italia it felt like the Tadej Pogacar comparisons weighed lightly on his shoulders. The 21-year-old seemed a changed figure from the wide-eyed figure who pulled on the maglia rosa in disbelief on stage nine, at the end of an audacious attack on one of the race’s toughest stages, the gravel-dotted run into Siena.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider grew into the race, seeming to grow in confidence and stature with each day in head-to-toe pink. It proved difficult for the likes of Richard Carapaz to dislodge him as he marked every one of his rivals’ moves, never missing a beat. He outlasted both Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates, in theory the squad’s official co-leaders going into the race.

There were echoes of another prodigious talent’s youthful enthusiasm in his attacking racing style, and like with Pogacar’s Tour de France in 2022, it proved insufficient to win the Giro d’Italia. Jumbo-Visma isolated Pogacar in the French Alps, wearing the Slovenian down through an all-out assault, as his tremendous efforts over the course of the race told and he finally buckled. A similar situation happened the following year.

In Italy, Del Toro appeared at ease closing gaps when other GC contenders attacked, but there were raised eyebrows at his decision to do it all himself, rather than letting his teammates do the dirty work. Question marks remain over UAE Team Emirates’ tactics at this race, from their unwillingness to throw the full weight of the squad behind one or the other of del Toro and Ayuso when the Mexican was in the ascendancy, to the failure to work to bring back Yates on the Colle delle Finestre, instead letting the race win ride away into the clouds.

Ironically, it was partially a reversion to conservative tactics that cost Del Toro the win – but his exhaustion on the penultimate stage will only have been compounded by the unnecessary energy he spent earlier in the race.

Inevitably, Del Toro will be back; his class and ability were apparent as a youngster and have only been emphasised by his near two-week stint in the pink jersey. He is the youngest podium finisher at the Giro since Fausto Coppi 85 years ago, and second on his Giro debut. Grand Tour wins are in his future.

Yates' triumph came seven years after he lost the maglia rosa on stage 19 (AP)

But rather than youthful enthusiasm and star power, this Giro was won on patience and experience. Simon Yates raced his 2018 Giro in the aggressive way Del Toro began his stint in pink, before cracking spectacularly with the finish line in sight, losing 38 minutes on the Finestre as he watched Chris Froome ride away to glory. This time Yates, 21st on stage one, kept a low profile until the last possible moment. It was a win seven years in the making.

While Del Toro stole the show for much of this race, and the complex politics among UAE’s young cohort of starlets made for drama, this race was one for a generation of old-timers. Comparatively, at least.

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For Primoz Roglic, the overwhelming pre-race favourite, it was a disappointment. In his last twelve Grand Tours, going back to his maiden Vuelta victory in 2019, he has either finished on the podium (seven times) or abandoned the race (five).

Bernal and Carapaz rolled back the years with their performances in Italy (AFP via Getty Images)

But this was the redemption tour for the 32-year-old Simon Yates; the exhilarating comeback of 28-year-old Egan Bernal, seventh on GC in Rome and back to attacking ways, three years on from the crash that nearly killed him; the unexpected renaissance of one of cycling’s canniest racers, 32-year-old Richard Carapaz.

Last year’s Giro was a story of untempered dominance, of one of the most brilliant riders to ever grace the sport. This year’s was a story of romance, of incredible perseverance, of a rider returning triumphant to the scene of one of his lowest moments. On the other side, it was a story of a young man with the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders, making history for Mexico and breaking new ground. Lit up by the attacks of the 2019 and 2021 winners, won by a rider who may have thought his chances of another victory at the corsa rosa had passed him by, and the scene of Del Toro’s coming of age, this Giro was the sport’s past, present and future, all in one.