Isaac del Toro claims Vuelta a Burgos title, McNulty up to second in Pologne

With second place on the fifth and final stage in the Vuelta a Burgos, Isaac del Toro claimed overall victory to seal his second stage race victory of the season. The result is a reward for a consistent week of racing by the Mexican, who overcame a flat tyre on stage 5 to produce a valiant ride to second over the line on Lagunas de Neila.

With the win, Del Toro takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG up to 70 wins for the 2025 campaign, and moves his own tally for the year up to nine.

Once he had crossed the line on the race’s final summit finish, the 21-year-old turned around and watched the clock tick by as his overall win was confirmed. Of course, the young talent also topped the table in the young rider classification after five days of racing in the Burgos region. For a while on the final day, however, victory looked far from Del Toro’s grasp.

As the favourites’ group reached the top of the penultimate categorised climb, the Alto de Rozavientos, Del Toro was soon dealt a cruel blow. The Mexican’s tyre fell flat and he was cast away from the sides of his rivals. Help quickly came from the UAE Team Emirates-XRG team car, but the 21-year-old had to produce a blockbuster descent to regain ground and return to the peloton.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Del Toro twisted his way in and out of every corner at speed, making his way back to the bunch as the final climb reared its head. Standing at 9.1% for 6.4km, the Lagunes de Neila would ultimately decide the winner of this year’s Vuelta a Burgos.

Léo Bisiaux of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale had ridden into the final stage as the leader, but the Frenchman was put into difficulty by the defining attacks of Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Del Toro with 3km to ride. Using the steepest part of the climb to their advantage, the pair danced their way up the road and would not be caught again before the line.

Renewing hostilities from the Clásica San Sebastián, Del Toro and Ciccone looked set to contest the day’s honours in a two-up sprint, but Del Toro felt his efforts from having to chase back on from his flat tyre, and was distanced inside the final kilometre. Ciccone was crowned the stage winner, though Del Toro knew his race was against the clock, as he sought to put sufficient time into the race leader Bisiaux.

The gap that separated the pair at the start of the day came and went, and with it, the Frenchman’s hopes of victory. As Bisiaux slipped down to third overall, Del Toro could punch the air with delight. Overall victory was his, and with it, the Emirati squad’s 70th win of the season.

Speaking after the finish, the Mexican was full of praise for his teammates.

Del Toro: “The last stage was tricky, I punctured on the last descent and had a hard chase back on and thought the race might have been getting away from me, but we maintained the calm and managed to get back in the race.

“I feel like I’ve taken a step forward this year, physically and mentally and I’m really enjoying my cycling. We had a great atmosphere in the team all week, and I’m very grateful for the team and the trust they show in me.”

Vuelta a Burgos stage 5 results

1. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) 3:23:16

2. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +10″

3. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) +27″

Vuelta a Burgos 2025 general classification (final) after stage 5

1. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 19:46:48

2. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) +19″

3. Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +25″

Over at the Tour de Pologne, Brandon McNulty and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates rose up the general classification on the penultimate stage. With just one final individual time trial to go on Sunday, McNulty, Jan Christen and Rafał Majka all sit inside the top six overall, less than 25 seconds each from the race lead of stage 6 winner Victor Langellotti (Ineos Grenadiers).

On the Queen stage of the race, McNulty rode strongly to second place over the line, pipped to the uphill finish only by a bike length by Langellotti. With McNulty a former American national time trial champion, the man from Phoenix, Arizona, can be confident heading into Sunday’s 12.5km ITT.

Behind McNulty in the general classification, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates Christen and Majka sit fifth and sixth overall, respectively. The pair also finished inside the top 10 on stage 6, with the Emirati squad taking a comfortable lead in the team classification into the seventh and final day of racing.

With over 3,000m of climbing and a little under 150km to ride, stage 6 was always going to be perhaps the toughest of the race, and so it proved. From the off, a large nine-man breakaway headed up the road in search of glory, with Julius Johansen and Vegard Stake Laengen tasked with limiting their advantage on behalf of UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Ever dependable, the Scandinavians pegged the breakaway at a little over a minute from the peloton, before Florian Vermeersch ventured to the front and sought to drive the pace as high as possible. The Belgian guided the race into its final 15km, before Majka accepted the challenge of his adoring fans, who lined the roadside in their thousands.

Chants of “Majka, Majka, Majka” rung out from the Tatra Mountains, as the Polish national champion rose out of his saddle and stretched the group of favourites into one long line on the final climb. Now down to a little over 10 riders, the ‘peloton’ contained three riders from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the Emirati squad better represented than any other.

Owing a debt of gratitude to the remarkable wind-up job of Majka, both Christen and McNulty tried their hand through the final couple of kilometres, before a sprint to the top of the climb decided the day’s honours.

Though Langellotti came out on top for Ineos Grenadiers, McNulty could be satisfied with his effort, which leaves the American just seven seconds off the race lead heading into his terrain on the final day.

McNulty: “This was a hard stage. It was hard, but it was enjoyable. On days like these, when you know that the fight will go to the line, you can wait for the moment to go full gas and then empty the tank. Both Vegard and Julius were great early on in the day, before Florian did his thing as we have seen all week.

“On the last climb, Rafał was super strong and had the whole group in one line. This was ideal for me and Jan, so I just rode as well as I could and today I just found one guy stronger. Chapeau to Langellotti. I think tomorrow suits me well and it is a day I have been looking forward to, with the goal of staying as close to the lead as possible.

“Tomorrow’s time trial will be the last opportunity to give everything, so I will just give everything I can. It’s been a hard race. The first day was easy, and then every other day has been a lot of up and down, but we’ve managed the nutrition well and got through it as well as possible up to now.”

Tour de Pologne stage 6 results

1. Victor Langellotti (Ineos Grenadiers) 3:32:58

2. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) +7″

9. Rafał Majka (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +8″

10. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

Tour de Pologne 2025 general classification after stage 6

1. Victor Langellotti (Ineos Grenadiers) 24:56:19

2. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +7″

3. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +20″

4. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +21″

6. Rafał Majka (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +24″