Isaac del Toro has emerged as one of the biggest names in the conversation ahead of the 2026 UCI Road World Championships, and an earlier comment from his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Tadej Pogačar has resurfaced as attention turns towards Montréal.
Del Toro has enjoyed a remarkable 2026 season. The Mexican rider finished third overall at the Tour de France on his debut and has continued to establish himself as one of the most exciting young riders in professional cycling.
His latest statement of intent came at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, where he defeated Paul Seixas in an uphill sprint to claim victory. The result immediately strengthened his reputation as a serious contender for the World Championships, which will use a demanding Montréal course.
But before the Mexican heads into the biggest one-day race of his career, attention has returned to Pogačar’s advice during the Tour de France.
During the Tour, Pogačar was filmed speaking to Del Toro after a demanding stage in which the younger rider had accelerated aggressively on the climb. Pogačar told his teammate: “You went too fast”, before explaining that the acceleration had been impressive but had pushed Del Toro close to his limits.
The exchange was not necessarily a criticism of Del Toro’s ability. Instead, it showed the level of tactical detail between the two UAE riders, with Pogačar using his experience to help his younger teammate understand when to attack and when to conserve energy.
That relationship has become increasingly important during Del Toro’s rapid rise.
Pogačar has previously spoken highly of Del Toro’s potential, even identifying his teammate as someone capable of becoming a future Tour de France winner. The Slovenian also played a major role in Del Toro’s breakthrough Tour, including helping him secure victory on the second stage in Barcelona.
Now, however, Del Toro faces a very different challenge.
Pogačar will not defend his world title in Montréal after his season-ending crash at the Vuelta a España. His absence has opened up the championship race and placed greater attention on riders such as Del Toro, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Paul Seixas.
Del Toro himself has remained cautious despite his Montréal victory. After beating Seixas, he insisted that he did not consider himself the favourite and warned that plenty could change before the World Championships.
The Mexican will also face a tactical challenge. At the Grand Prix de Montréal, he benefited from the strength of his UAE teammates, including Brandon McNulty. At the World Championships, however, he will race for Mexico and is unlikely to have the same depth of support in the decisive stages.
For now, the rainbow jersey remains undecided. But with Del Toro arriving in Montréal after a major victory and Pogačar’s words still providing an intriguing reminder of their relationship, the young Mexican will enter the World Championships under enormous attention.
If he can turn the lessons learned alongside one of the sport’s biggest stars into another decisive performance, Del Toro could add another extraordinary chapter to his breakthrough season.
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