Latest news with #UAEteamEmirates
The National
2 days ago
- Business
- The National
UAE Team Emirates rider Isaac del Toro 'proud and happy' despite Giro d'Italia disappointment
UAE Team Emirates-EXG rider Isaac del Toro insisted he is proud of his efforts at the Giro d'Italia despite being beaten to the title by British rider Simon Yates. The Mexican went into Saturday's penultimate Stage 20 in pole position to become UAE Team Emirates second consecutive winner of the Grand Tour race, following in the slipstream of Tadej Pogacar last year. But Briton's Simon Yates, who started the day third in the general classification 81 seconds behind the leader, produced a magnificent ride on the Colle delle Finestre – the highest point of this year's race – to overhaul second-place Richard Carapaz and Del Toro in the standings. The Visma-Lease A Bike rider finished the stage almost four minutes clear of Del Toro with the Giro crown all but in the bag going into Sunday's ceremonial finale around Rome. Del Toro had snatched the overall lead on Stage 9 when he took charge of the pink jersey which he kept a tight hold on for 10 more stages. But it was not to be for the 21-year-old who came agonisingly close to victory in what was only his second Grand Tour race after last year's Vuelta a Espagna. 'Obviously I am super happy to finish second, I need to be mature with this and, of course, a lot of people are surprised that I can be at this level now,' said Del Toro, whose victory on Stage 17 was his first on a Grand Tour. 'For my team, it's not a big surprise, it's just a question of time. I want to believe it, this is the main problem for me personally, but this week I show I can be a top rider and top contender and I cannot be more proud and happy, to be honest. 'For sure it's always disappointing to lose the leader's jersey, but actually as a team we cannot be more together and more happy about the performance that we did. We cannot manage a victory, but … it's cycling and that's why we love it. 'I was close, and this is a thing, but at the end I didn't win,' added Del Toro. 'I will just keep working and I will come back for sure. 'You need to be a great winner, you need to be a great loser, and I think I am a good loser, and chapeau for them. Congrats.' It was a story of redemption for Yates as he sobbed uncontrollably after crossing the finish lines in third place behind stage winner Chris Harper and second place Alessandro Verre. At the 2018 Giro, Yates was wearing the pink jersey on the penultimate mountain stage only to see his lead snuffed out by countryman Chris Froome on the Colle delle Finestre. Yates would end the day down in 18th place, nearly 36 minutes behind soon-to-be champion Froome with one competitive stage to go. 'When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try to do something here and close the chapter, let's say,' said Yates on Saturday. 'I maybe look relaxed but I also had doubts this morning, if I could really do something, but the guys they encouraged me and believed in me, so yeah, thanks to them.' As for Del Toro, he remained upbeat after what has been a breakthrough performance from a young rider. 'My disappointment is split 50-50, half for me and half for the team. They deserved the win,' he said. 'I'm happy in one sense becaus e I showed that I can compete in a Grand Tour and that I'm not lacking anything. Few people thought I could do what I've done before this Giro. I had the legs to win a Grand Tour, I went close to victory. 'I respect the big riders but if I look at all my performances in this Giro, I can start to think I can win a Grand Tour. 'I'll sleep well tonight because I've matured and I've realised that this is also cycling. I'm not smiling because I'm second. But it's still a great result.'
CNA
3 days ago
- General
- CNA
Del Toro 'proud and happy' despite relinquishing Giro lead to Yates
Isaac del Toro said he had no regrets over losing the Giro d'Italia's pink jersey on the penultimate stage on Saturday, with the young UAE Team Emirates rider happy to have shown that he can compete with the elite in the future. Del Toro emerged as the surprise overall leader on stage nine when he took the pink jersey and kept it for 10 more stages before Simon Yates snatched it from him on the final mountain stage. Yates launched a stunning attack on the Colle delle Finestre climb to leave Del Toro and fellow GC contender Richard Carapaz far behind, taking the pink jersey to lead by nearly four minutes heading into Sunday's final flat stage in Rome. "Obviously I am super happy to finish second, I need to be mature with this and, of course, a lot of people are surprised that I can be at this level now," said Del Toro, who was back in his team's white jersey. "For my team, it's not a big surprise, it's just a question of time. I want to believe it, this is the main problem for me personally, but this week I show I can be a top rider and top contender and I cannot be more proud and happy, to be honest. "For sure it's always disappointing to lose the leader's jersey, but actually as a team we cannot be more together and more happy about the performance that we did. We cannot manage a victory, but... it's cycling and that's why we love it." Del Toro led Yates by more than a minute ahead of Saturday's stage. Yet the inexperienced Mexican did not go after Yates when the Briton launched his fourth attack that eventually gave him the overall lead. Del Toro had been glued to Carapaz's wheel but even the Ecuadorian rider showed no intent to chase down Yates. "You don't want to just start attacking because it's a one-hour climb and when Simon comes, I knew he will just wait for the best moment to start to attack," Del Toro added. "Of course, if I'm first and Simon is third, Richard needs to follow. And then he didn't want to follow, he just wanted to maybe try to drop me during the whole climb. But then of course he can't. "I tried to work with him in the last part of the climb because the gap that Simon has, it almost affects my GC (lead) and he didn't want to... We waited for the team and we managed the best that we can."
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Del Toro 'proud and happy' despite relinquishing Giro lead to Yates
May 31 (Reuters) - Isaac del Toro said he had no regrets over losing the Giro d'Italia's pink jersey on the penultimate stage on Saturday, with the young UAE Team Emirates rider happy to have shown that he can compete with the elite in the future. Del Toro emerged as the surprise overall leader on stage nine when he took the pink jersey and kept it for 10 more stages before Simon Yates snatched it from him on the final mountain stage. Yates launched a stunning attack on the Colle delle Finestre climb to leave Del Toro and fellow GC contender Richard Carapaz far behind, taking the pink jersey to lead by nearly four minutes heading into Sunday's final flat stage in Rome. "Obviously I am super happy to finish second, I need to be mature with this and, of course, a lot of people are surprised that I can be at this level now," said Del Toro, who was back in his team's white jersey. "For my team, it's not a big surprise, it's just a question of time. I want to believe it, this is the main problem for me personally, but this week I show I can be a top rider and top contender and I cannot be more proud and happy, to be honest. "For sure it's always disappointing to lose the leader's jersey, but actually as a team we cannot be more together and more happy about the performance that we did. We cannot manage a victory, but... it's cycling and that's why we love it." Del Toro led Yates by more than a minute ahead of Saturday's stage. Yet the inexperienced Mexican did not go after Yates when the Briton launched his fourth attack that eventually gave him the overall lead. Del Toro had been glued to Carapaz's wheel but even the Ecuadorian rider showed no intent to chase down Yates. "You don't want to just start attacking because it's a one-hour climb and when Simon comes, I knew he will just wait for the best moment to start to attack," Del Toro added. "Of course, if I'm first and Simon is third, Richard needs to follow. And then he didn't want to follow, he just wanted to maybe try to drop me during the whole climb. But then of course he can't. "I tried to work with him in the last part of the climb because the gap that Simon has, it almost affects my GC (lead) and he didn't want to... We waited for the team and we managed the best that we can."
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Nico Denz boost Red Bull with Giro d'Italia stage 18 win
Nico Denz surged to victory on stage 18 of the Giro D'Italia, offering some respite for his struggling Red Bull team. The German produced a powerful finish to take the win at Cesano Maderno, a much-needed injection of good news following the injury withdrawals of general classification hopefuls Jai Hindley and Primoz Roglic. Denz, now a three-time stage winner at the Giro, moved with a group of 35 in the opening stages and held his spot as the breakaway thinned to 11. With just over 10 kilometres still to go, the 31-year-old made his move and found nobody able to match him. Mirco Maestri, representing Polti-VisitMalta, won the battle for second around a minute further back and Edward Planckaert came in third for Alpecin-Deceuninck. The GC riders in the peloton crossed almost 10 minutes after Denz stopped the clock, leaving Isaac Del Toro in possession of the pink jersey on behalf of UAE Team Emirates. Richard Carparaz (EF-Education EasyPost) and Great Britain's Simon Yates remains third (Team Visma). Del Toro's team-mate Juan Ayuso was forced to abandon his own bid after a nasty bee sting around his eye added to existing knee problems, leaving him unable to race on. The race now moves on to the climbs of the 166km Biella-Champoluc stage.
The National
5 days ago
- General
- The National
UAE Team Emirates star Juan Ayuso quits Giro d'Italia after being stung in the eye by a bee
UAE Team Emirates star Juan Ayuso has been forced to quit the Giro d'Italia after being stung in the eye by a bee. Ayuso, who saw his bid for overall glory wilt in recent days, endured more rotten luck on Thursday when the bee crawled inside his glasses and stung him in the eye ahead of Stage 18. Ayuso's face quickly swelled up leaving him unable to see out of his right eye. 'Obviously this is not how I wanted my Giro to end but some things are out of my control,' said Ayuso. 'I wish the guys all the best and hope [teammate] Isaac [Del Toro] can keep pink all the way to Rome.' Despite advice from the UAE Team Emirates doctors to sit out Thursday's stage, he attempted to ride before being forced to retire on the side of the road. 'It's going to go viral but a bee went inside my helmet and I can't see in my right eye,' said Ayuso ahead of his aborted attempt to ride. 'I don't want people to make captions of it, because I know it is going to go viral, but it is what it is. 'And I will try to, you know … the team doctor said it's best for me not to start, but I really want to try and give my best to be here for the team. 'Yesterday, I was not useful at all because I am feeling really bad. But you know, I hope I can recover for the next days. I am going to try and get past today.' Ayuso had started the Giro with high hopes of overall victory in General Classification as he led the UAE Team Emirates challenge in the absence of star rider Tadej Pogacar. The Spaniard, 22, was widely regarded as one of the leading contenders in what was his debut in the three-week Grand Tour race that finishes this Sunday in Rome. That challenge has failed to materialise, however, with him suffering on the Giro's many punishing climbs. On Wednesday's Stage 17, he limped across the line in 141st place, more than 30 minutes behind, as teammate Isaac Del Toro soared to stage victory and solidified his grip on the maglia rosa.
