Monday, June 9, 2025

Baja California’s Isaac del Toro makes history as first Mexican cyclist to lead Giro d’Italia

Isaac del Toro, a 21-year-old from Ensenada, Baja California, has become the first cyclist from Mexico to lead the Giro d’Italia, one of cycling’s three most prestigious events, along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

Though del Toro finished second to Belgian star Wout Van Aert in Sunday’s portion of the race, his overall time stands as the lowest, meaning that he’ll be wearing the iconic pink jersey going into Tuesday’s Stage 10.

The pink jersey, or maglia rosa, is always worn by the race’s overall leader at the start of that day. Monday was a rest day, one of two during the three-week race.

“I cried with happiness,” del Toro said after Sunday’s 181-kilometer stage from Gubbio to Siena, which included 30 kilometers on the gravel roads of the Tuscan countryside, where threats of tire punctures and crashes abound. “It’s incredible, a very beautiful feeling. I can’t even fully grasp it yet.”

Del Toro, who is in the second year of a three-year contract as a pro rider for UAE Team Emirates XRG, holds a 73-second lead over teammate Juan Ayuso of Spain, with Italy’s Antonio Tiberi third 90 seconds back.

The Giro d’Italia is a race of 21 stages spanning over 3,500 kilometers that tests riders across flat stages, mountain climbs and time trials. It will conclude in Rome on June 1.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sidi (@sidisport_official)

Though UAE Team Emirates XRG has four riders in the Top 10, Del Toro’s rise to the top of the standings has been a surprise. He has no major wins as a pro, but in 2023, he became the first Mexican to win France’s Tour de l’Avenir, a race for amateurs covering much of the Tour de France course.

The Giro will resume on Tuesday with Stage 10 — a 28.6-kilometer race covering a flat route from Lucca to Pisa that will be a test of individual speed.

The short, flat stage — the second and final time trial this year — is expected to have a large impact on the overall standings, especially for contenders, such as pre-race favorite Primož Roglič of Slovenia, looking to make up time.

Roglič, the 2023 Giro d’Italia winner and a four-time winner of the Vuelta a España, crashed Sunday on the gravel and dropped to 10th overall, 145 seconds behind Del Toro.

Though there is no TV coverage in Mexico, the Giro d’Italia can be seen on Max in the U.S. and on the streaming service FloBikes in Canada.

Sunday’s Stage 9 in Tuscany was a two-man battle full of drama at the finish.

Belgium’s Van Aert, 30, a three-time stage winner in the Tour de France, outsprinted the young Del Toro in the final meters on Siena’s steep Piazza del Campo.

Del Toro’s breakthrough in his first Giro resonates in Mexico, where cycling lacks a Grand Tour tradition. Three-week-long Grand Tour races such as the Tour de France (launched in 1903) and the Giro d’Italia (1909) are considered the most prestigious and challenging events in road cycling.

In the past, Mexico has hosted professional races, such as the Vuelta Ciclista Mexico (Tour of Mexico), which started in 1948 and was revived from 2008 to 2015.

Later this year, Mexico is scheduled to host Desafío México by La Vuelta, a cyclotourist event. It will offer amateurs the chance to ride routes designed to evoke the spirit of the famous Vuelta a España, sometimes along famous cyclists.

With reports from Associated Press, El Financiero, Cycling News and Sin Embargo

*Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Isaac del Toro had the most overall points in the Giro d’Italia. The text has been updated to reflect that del Toro maintains the fastest overall time in the race, which advanced the cyclist to first place on Sunday.

4 COMMENTS

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Three people strapped into a yellow parasail connected to a boat off camera. They are in the air slightly above the ocean.

The best beaches in Los Cabos for every activity

0
Whether you've come to swim, surf, dive or are just looking for a great volleyball spot, we've ranked Los Cabos' beaches for you.
Sport fishers cast off the fishing boat Red Rooster III

This US sportfishing boat keeps sneaking into Mexico’s natural protected areas. Mexico is still working on how to respond

18
Mexico’s ability to defend its natural refuges is being put to the test in North America's largest marine protected area.
A woman picks up plastic bottles on a beach

National Beach Cleanup Strategy aims to eliminate plastic pollution

4
The new environmental plan kicked off Thursday with a national beach cleanup day, in honor of World Environment Day.