This was supposed to be a breakaway. Not the kind you chase down on a flat stage, but the kind where Juan Ayuso finally stepped into the light. No Tadej Pogačar overshadowing his every move. No questions about hierarchy. The Giro d’Italia was meant to be Ayuso’s chance to lead. And ideally, to win.
Instead, on the rutted white gravel of Tuscany, it was Isaac Del Toro, Ayuso’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate, who lit up the road and pulled on the maglia rosa. The two teammates are now separated by 1'13".
Now UAE has two leaders. One expected. One not. One likely to fade, one less so, but this is the Giro and we never really know. We don’t know how Ayuso feels about that, but we know what it looks like: the Giro’s youngest breakout, clad in pink, holding court. And Ayuso, who waited years behind Pogačar for this shot, suddenly staring at a new shadow cast by someone even younger.
Del Toro wasn’t just good on Stage 9. He was gutsy, opportunistic, and relentless. He attacked early, stayed upright while chaos unfolded behind, and nearly took the stage win ahead of Wout van Aert. In the process, the 21-year-old Mexican became the first of his countrymen to wear the maglia rosa.
He made the front group after bridging across on the second gravel sector of the day, joining Van Aert, Egan Bernal, and others from the Ineos Grenadiers as the GC behind imploded. A crash involving Primož Roglič created gaps. Del Toro didn’t hesitate.
By the final climb into Siena, only Van Aert could stay with him. Bernal and counter-attacker Mattias Vacek had cracked after Del Toro went full gas up the Colle Pinzuto with 16 km to go, snagged six bonus seconds, then led Van Aert into Siena and up to the twisting finale. He didn't get the stage, but he got the jersey.
“I don’t know. I cannot believe it, to be honest,” Del Toro said, smiling like someone trying to make sense of a dream. “It’s like the best dream … Yeah, it’s amazing. I cannot describe this.”
This wasn’t a calculated team plan. It was part luck, part instinct.
“They tell me the situation of the race. I was in the front and I didn’t crash in that moment,” he said. He had looked around and thought his team leader was there, but it was in fact Egan Bernal just off his shoulder in the his Café de Colombia-inspired national champion's jersey. “I thought it was Ayuso because both were wearing white, no? But then I see it was not Ayuso. I just told them I don’t work, I stay in the group … but just like this, it was a situation that was at the favor of the team.”
Ayuso sitting in a group behind ended up being perfect for Del Toro. It was his excuse, much like the excuse Van Aert used later in the race, to sit in the wheels and do very little until the final half hour.
It’s tough to say what we should make of Del Toro’s post-race demeanor. He wept in the arms of a soigneur just beyond the line, but smiled little on the podium, a marked departure from the ecstasy of Diego Ulissi just 24 hours before. Was he in shock? Taking it all in? Or genuinely displeased with second place on the stage?
The rawness is part of the charm. He talks like he rides—fast, loose, and full of feeling.
“A dream is for free, no?” he said, when asked what it meant to lead the Giro. “I just need a big sleep today and take big dinner and we will see next week.”
I think it might be the last option, he's still unpicking that finale. I think, based on an admittedly tiny data set, that he might be that sort of athlete. Beneath the smile is a rider who knows exactly what he wants. He tried to drop Van Aert. He pulled all the way up to the Piazza.
“I tried,” he said. “I don’t want regrets.”
Del Toro's breakthrough might have surprised fans, but the signs were there. He won the Tour de l’Avenir in 2023, often called the "Junior Tour de France." It’s where Grand Tour champions are minted. That result hinted at what might come, but success in the U23 ranks doesn’t always translate at the WorldTour level. Until now, he was a promising name. Now, he’s a Grand Tour leader.
Ayuso finished a respectable seventh. He’s still firmly in the GC hunt. But he’s no longer the only GC card in play. UAE’s plan, if it had one, is now cracked wide open. Maybe Ayuso leads. Maybe Del Toro. Maybe the road decides.
Ayuso or Del Toro? Why pick?
We will find out quite a bit on Tuesday, when the Giro takes on a flat, 28 km time trial. Primoz Roglič will see it as a chance to pull himself back into contention; Ayuso will likely be the closest GC man to him. How much time will Del Toro lose, if any?
The most likely scenario is still that Del Toro fades hard at some point in the next week, and if not, then certainly as the race hits the longer climbs of the Dolomites. But there is no guarantee of that with these precocious young talents.
Usually, "let the road decide" is evasive director sportif nonsense. In this case, it's probably the reality, regardless of how Ayuso might feel about it.
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