Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), who despite being just 20 years old, started his season as a professional with solid performances in Australia, reaching the podium of the Tour Down Under, as well as winning a stage and the youth classification, is ready to compete in his first European stage tour at the Volta ao Algarve.
With João Almeida withdrawing from the race due to illness, Del Toro was brought in to replace the Portuguese cyclist and will have leadership opportunities along with his teammates Jan Christen and Portuguese António Morgado. They will be accompanied by Filippo Baroncini, Marc Hirschi, Rui Oliveira and Nils Politt.
The team trusts younger cyclists
Speaking to British website GCN before the race, team manager Matxin Joxean Fernández said: “We have a good team going to the Algarve and although Remco Evenepoel is the favorite for the race, we have a lot of faith in our young people. I want to give them more space so they can build their confidence.”
Having watched him for several years before his overall victory at last year’s Tour de l’Avenir, Matxin has already been impressed not only by Del Toro’s results this season, but also by the way he handles himself off the bike.
“In Australia, he saw the level of the WorldTour and in the Training Camp, we saw a cyclist who had a super good level, who had good numbers and who had the respect of his teammates. His level is very good,” said a confident Matxin Fernándes.
