After narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Tour victory at the Giro d’Italia in 2025, Isaac del Toro is set to make his debut at the Tour de France in 2026, where he will ride in support of Tadej Pogačar as the world champion attempts to win a record-equalling fifth Tour title.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was a revelation at the 2025 Giro, streaking into the lead of the race over the strade bianche on stage 9 and holding the lead all the way until an extraordinary penultimate day in which Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) snatched the pink jersey.
Despite that disappointment, Del Toro’s potential for Grand Tour racing was made evident, and supporting Pogačar at the 2026 Tour de France will be the next step on his apprenticeship.
“The idea is that I am always with him, it is part of the job to learn as fast as I can,” Del Toro said in a press conference during the team’s December training camp media day.
“I try to understand the race better and learn how these races work for the future. I think it is good for me.”
The 22-year-old, who was born and raised in the city of Ensenada on Mexico’s pacific coast into a family of cyclists, has been one of the sport’s fastest-rising stars in recent seasons. Having raced in Europe since his junior years through the Mexican A.R.Monex team based in San Marino, Del Toro burst into wider consciousness with his bombshell win at the Tour de l’Avenir in 2023, immediately joining UAE Team Emirates-XRG the following season.
Del Toro told journalists that it had been his dream since childhood to race the Tour de France. He will do so with the extra significance of racing in the Mexican national champion’s jersey after he won that title in October in his hometown.
“I always wanted to be there,” Del Toro said. “As a kid it was a dream, and now it is part of the plan. I want to be up there with the guys and be at that level.”
“It is really special [to wear the Mexican champion’s jersey at the Tour]. I don't know if that has happened before. It was a goal I had as a kid, and now to have the flag is incredible. It is something I am very proud of.”
Del Toro will begin his season with a debut at the UAE Tour before linking up with Pogačar for the first time at Strade Bianche. He will go on to race Tirreno-Adriatico and again help the Slovenian in his attempt to win Milano-Sanremo. After that, Del Toro will race Itzulia Basque Country and Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes (formerly Dauphiné) before racing the Tour.
It’s expected that Del Toro will have a mixture of supporting others as well as looking to his own opportunities to race for the win.
“Some races are about taking chances and trying to reach a different level this year. We will see how things go and I am excited,” he said.
Pogačar’s schedule for 2026 was also revealed during the media day, with the world champion once again hoping to add to his number of Monument victories, particularly at Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, before heading to the Tour de France.
Portuguese stage racer João Almeida meanwhile will skip the Tour de France. He is setting his sights on a return to the Giro d’Italia as well as a tilt at the Vuelta a España in 2026.
