Isaac del Toro raced with a maturity beyond his years and with a show of force to win on the final steep hilltop finish in Camerino on Saturday and so set up overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader will ride into San Benedetto del Tronto on Sunday and watch the sprinters fight for victory, knowing he has a 42-second lead on Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 43 seconds on Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Del Toro has proven he is the strongest in the weeklong stage race and seems destined to lift the Tirreno-Adriatico winner's trident trophy and take another step forward in his stage racing career.
The 22-year-old Mexican was isolated for part of the run-in to the finish and came under attack on the 20% ramps on the straight road up to Camerino. Last year, Del Toro might have panicked and made tactical mistakes, but this time, he was laser-focused as he measured his final effort.
He refused to react instinctively when Pellizzari surged away early and when Jorgenson made a final push to try to win the stage and snatch second place from Pellizzari. When the 20% gradients eased, del Toro kicked away from the American to emerge from the shadows into the sunlight and win the stage.
His victory underlined his dominance and extended his overall lead, paying back his teammates for their hard work and adding the ciclamino points jersey to the leader's blue jersey and the best young rider's white jersey he already held.
There were no gifts, not even for local rider and close friend Pellizzari, who could only hug and congratulate del Toro for his victory.
"I tried not to panic or act on instinct. I tried to always think about what I did," del Toro explained in the post-race press conference.
"It would have been super nice if Pellizzari had won, he's racing at home, but I'm doing this for my team. He's a friend, but you also need to do your job.
"I tried to keep calm and try one effort, but without benefiting the other guys. I don't want to pass my limit and lose time. So I raced smart, even if it was super tough."
After del Toro pulled on the leader's jersey, several of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates stopped near the podium area to cheer him. He dashed to hug and thank them, with a show of genuine gratitude.
The USA's Kevin Vermaerke crashed into a wall at speed and needed medical treatment from the race doctor, but got back on to give his all for del Toro. Jan Christen was bandaged and suffering, but also chased back up to the front group at one point to do a huge final turn up front for his leader, while Benoît Cosnefroy worked hard all week.
"I knew that everybody did not have a full tank. I knew that if I was a little bit tired, they would be tired too," del Toro said.
"When I was alone, I didn't panic; I just tried to think of the many different scenarios and how I would play them. All the team did super good, and I cannot be more proud of the staff and the work we did this week."
