Despite having to manage a finale that was different from what they expected and tried to engineer, UAE Team Emirates-XRG came away from stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia satisfied and still holding the pink jersey – now by a few more seconds – with Isaac del Toro.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG had tried to let the non-threatening break go on the stage to Castelnovo ne’ Monti, and were happy to let the escapees battle for the stage victory. Instead, they were drawn into an aggressive finale after keeping the gap close enough to allow a late effort from Lidl-Trek to bring back the break.
As a result, the GC riders spurred into action in the finale, with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-Easypost) winning the stage, and gaining time to climb three spots on the GC to sixth.
It might not have been the finish they anticipated, but UAE navigated the situation with ease, with no other riders making gains, and pink jersey Del Toro gained a few bonus seconds as he sprinted to second.
“We wanted the break to arrive. For us it was good, we let it go, it was going out to three minutes, but then Trek decided to close,” Director Sportiff Fabio Baldato told Cyclingnews at the finish.
“I know if you slow down too much, somebody starts to attack again, but for us it was fine. It wasn’t really that good a break and then we [wouldn’t] take a risk at the end.
“In the end, they tried, they closed, chapeau to Carapaz, he did a really great move. We just tried to close it, not let it go too much. Maybe if we were more aggressive, we would have been able to win the stage with Del Toro, but that was not really the idea – we wanted to go through without problem.”
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Del Toro admitted that he initially did ask teammate Rafał Majka to close the gap to Carapaz, but ultimately decided that staying together as a team was better for UAE.
“I told [Majka] to try to go a little bit faster and to try to catch him, but for the moment in my head and with the situation in the race, I didn’t see that my teammates were not with me. Then when I attacked and I went to Carapaz, I looked behind and I saw the gap with Caruso, but also I didn’t see my teammates, and the plan was not to [bridge to Carapaz],” Del Toro said.
“If we can be with everybody in the front together, it’s nicer and easier. So that’s why I stopped and we managed to come with everybody together.”
Indeed, even after a day of working, UAE finished with both Del Toro and Juan Ayuso in the first group, and helpers Adam Yates and Brandon McNulty not far off, and still in the top 10 overall.
“Teamwork was amazing on the climb, even after [the attack, we were] all together on the front. We are good,” Baldato said.
“Mainly, it was the race we expected, it was going better than expected, and what happened in the end was what we knew would happen if it all came together. We still had Majka, we still had Brandon McNulty, we still had Adam Yates, for us it’s also good that Carapaz won the stage. We took second in the end, Del Toro was behind, gaining six seconds on the others, so at the end of the day we are satisfied with what happened.”
On the first climbing day since last week, UAE were hoping to have a calmer day, as leader Del Toro is still learning how to ride with a leader’s jersey on his back, and race more tactically.
“I was only focused on doing a smart race and being there,” Del Toro said of his aims for the day.
Notably, the pink jersey and his team stayed composed when Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) attacked on the Alpe San Pellegrino, with Del Toro deliberately trying to race more mindfully as they shut down the Colombian.
“It’s normal, it was hard, and I think it was a good moment, but I try to take the experience of other riders who are older than me who have been in this situation before,” Del Toro said of Bernal’s move.
“And it was like 100k to go, and probably it’s not the smartest thing to do this or to try to follow full in, or to counter attack or something when you have a lot of race still to do. That’s why I tried to have normal feelings and not go too crazy and just be there, be attentive, and try to be smart. I’m not a smart guy but I try to do my best.”
Later on the stage, Del Toro did come to the front himself, perhaps a moment of excitement, as UAE were clear to say that this was not indicative of the rider having to close down moves himself.
“He’s a young guy. It’s not that he closed the gap by himself, he was just going, he’s excited, we cannot control everything, also because in the car we understand only 20 seconds late, so it’s not that he was closing it down,” Baldato explained.
Questions about leadership and Ayuso may still remain – and UAE are not exactly happy to face those questions – but for now, Del Toro is just taking his time in pink to learn and enjoy, and the leadership crunch point will come when it comes.
“I try to learn, because we never know, but I try to learn how to recover faster, in less time. I don’t know how to do it, but I am trying every day to do it quicker and with the same quality,” he said.
“It’s incredible to put on the jersey, the helmet, to see the bike. Today I looked down and saw the bar tape and the touches. I cannot believe I am on this bike and I am in these colours, it’s incredible. You don’t see it but sometimes I smile to myself because I cannot believe it.”
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