Isaac del Toro's lead in the Giro d'Italia has positively shaken the cycling world, and the next three stages – with the final day on a flat course – will answer the question of whether the 21-year-old talent will become the first Mexican to win a Grand Tour.
"My chances of winning the Giro are as good as starting in Albania. I want to finish it beautifully, especially for my teammates. They are always there for me," said del Toro.
Del Toro's achievement of winning a stage yesterday is even more remarkable as he is only in his second season as a professional. However, the leader of the UAE Team Emirates - XRG team has already achieved quite a bit, with five victories to his name. The most significant of these so far is his first place in the Milan-Turin one-day race in March this year.
Although no Mexican cyclist has won a Grand Tour, four cyclists from Latin American countries have previously participated in the Giro. The story began in 1991 with Raúl Alcalá, a pioneer of Mexican cycling in Europe, best remembered for his two Tour de France stage wins. At that time, he participated as part of the PDM-Ultima-Concorde team, and although he didn't win a stage, he paved the way for future generations.
A long silence followed, until 2005 when Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio emerged, becoming the most prominent Mexican in Giro history. Riding for the Panaria team, he won three stages between 2001 and 2002, and in his last of those, he also won the climbers' classification.
In 2013, it was Cristian Meza's turn, who competed with the Continental team. His performance was modest, and he did not finish the race. The same happened to Luis Lemus, who started in 2014 with Lampre-Merida. Although he finished, he did not achieve significant results.
🐂 Olé, Isaac 🩷#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/2uymFSNvcd
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 28, 2025
"You tried again today, huh?" "Here, have a drink" 😅
— Eurosport IT (@Eurosport_IT) May 28, 2025
The amusing exchange between Pellizzari and Del Toro 👀#Ciclismo #Cycling #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/OjCsUVMthK
El Torito is your stage 17 winner at the #GirodItalia 🥇🇲🇽
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) May 28, 2025
Great job, @ISAACDELTOROx1! We are all so proud of you 🩷👚 #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/xPf61CYOKa
