Lance Armstrong sat down again with his colleagues on his ‘The Move’ podcast, George Hincapie and Johan Bruyneel, to look at the new crop of young cyclists who have been impressing at the start of 2024. They highlighted cyclists like Igor Arrieta, Paul Magnier or Luke Lamperti, although the main focus was the Mexican Isaac del Toro, from the UAE Team Emirates team.
Johan Bruyneel on Isaac del Toro
Johan Bruyneel commented on the cyclist, being optimistic about his future: “Del Toro still has a lot to learn to reach his full potential, which is very promising. But the way he raced the Tour Down Under was impressive. It was incredible for a mountain runner to attack in the last km in the 2nd stage.”
“We don’t see these types of attacks nowadays with this speed in sprints. Being able to do this and finish third in the general classification makes him a name to remember and one that we will certainly hear a lot about in the future.”
Lance Armstrong on Isaac del Toro’s attack
Lance Armstrong added about Isaac del Toro’s attack at the Tour Down Under: “In addition to the power, knowing how to choose the right moment to attack, looking one way and the other and knowing it’s the moment, you’ve got that.”
“Think for a moment that you have a guy from Mexico and if you ask someone to name two Mexican cyclists from the last 40 years they can’t do it (Bruyneel then names Raúl Alcalá).”
Armstrong confirmed this and added Miguel Arroyo to develop his argument: “We were talking about France, Italy or Spain, I love Mexico, I love it, but it doesn’t produce professional cyclists. To me, this is unbelievable. How did this guy find the bike? What was your path to becoming a professional?”, concludes Lance Armstrong.
