Isaac del Toro claims fifth win in two weeks at the Clàssica Terres de l’Ebre

Picking up exactly where he left off at the recent Tour of Austria, Isaac del Toro produced a brilliant performance at the Clàssica Terres de l’Ebre to seal his fifth victory in just two weeks. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider went on the attack alone and ensured he would not be caught before the finish, becoming only the second-ever winner of this young Spanish one-day semi-Classic.

Del Toro, still just 21 years old, has now moved to 10 career victories, with his exploits at the Tour of Austria yielding four wins alone. The Mexican was, of course, the breakout star of this year’s Giro d’Italia, and showed every bit of his class to win in Spain on Monday afternoon.

Over a rolling parcours in Tarragona, Del Toro watched his teammates set a searing pace under the midday sun, with the peloton splintering under both the heat and pressure. One by one, his competitors dropped from the pack, and Del Toro began to sense an opportunity to grab the race by the scruff of its neck.

That moment came on the Alt de Paüls, which stood at 7.1% for 3.6km. With the group whittled down to only the strongest riders, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider stomped on the pedals and powered his way off the front of the race. As the gradient rose, so too did the pressure, and for a short while, Natnael Tesfatsion of Movistar proved the only man able to follow Del Toro’s wheel.

However, Del Toro would not relent, and the Eritrean rider eventually yielded. With 33km to go, only one man remained alone at the head of proceedings. With a clean run ahead of him, Del Toro decided to go all in.

It would not be an easy task, but as the kilometres ticked by, Del Toro’s advantage only extended. Despite a 10-man chasing group coalescing behind the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man, he soon had a gap of well over a minute and a half. It was a display of pure class from the Mexican, who was determined to make good on the efforts made by his teammates earlier in the day.

By the final 3km ramp to the finish line, the result was all but assured. All that was left was for Del Toro to ride past the cheering fans and carry his power to the line. As the final 300m approached, the 21-year-old finally allowed himself a moment to take stock of another win, with Del Toro rising from his handlebars to salute the crowd as he passed under the finish arch.

In just two weeks, UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s breakout star of the season has doubled his career victory tally, and if Monday’s display is anything to go by, Del Toro is set for another exciting block of racing over the coming weeks.

Del Toro: “Thanks to the work of my teammates, I was able to sit protected at the front of the group all day. They had me in the right spot to make a move.

“It was a bit of a risk to go from so far out, but I’m happy with my condition at the moment and I believed I could pull it off.

“I enjoyed the race a lot today and I am enjoying the atmosphere in and around the team, so I hope it can be the start of a good block of racing for me.”

Clàssica Terres de l’Ebre 2025 result:

1. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:23:58

2. Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) +46″

3. Lukas Nerurkar (EF Education-EasyPost) +51″