Isaac del Toro climbed onto the Tirreno-Adriatico podium three times after stage 3 but was happy to have the leader's jersey, the points jersey, the best young rider jersey and a UAE Team Emirates-XRG team jacket on top to keep him warm as he talked after a day of suffering.
The Mexican spent the winter training at home in the warmth of the Baja Peninsula and then won the UAE Tour in the sun and heat in February.
Today was very different. The 221km stage 3 from Cortona in Tuscany to Magliano de' Marsi in Abruzzo was a long ride down the flat roads of central Italy. There were frequent rain showers and temperatures of 10°C for much of the day.
Only stage winner Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon-CMA CGM) was happy at the finish; everyone else was just keen to head to their team buses for a warm shower.
Del Toro was ill at Strade Bianche and coughed as he did a series of television interviews. Fortunately, his many jerseys kept him warm, and he stayed mentally strong.
"It's all part of the job," he said of suffering for five-and-a-half hours and then another 30 minutes of podium and media duties.
"I don't try to take it all too seriously. I know I can't let time pass; I need to be super attentive. I was careful and wanted to stay safe. I'm happy I got through today."
Del Toro and his team were attentive during the stage, protecting their leader and then seeing an opportunity to take a bonus sprint with the peloton all together after 164km.
"It wasn't really in the plan, but we were in the bunch, so why not?" he said.
"It was a super long sprint. I couldn't see much, so I didn't know where the line was, but I managed to get the last position, so it was super good to get a bonus second. We'll see what they mean later in the race."
De Toro now leads his rival and friend Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by four seconds, with the USA's Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) third at 14 seconds, ahead of the other big-name GC contenders.
De Toro and Pellizzari are both 22 and were born just six days apart in November 2003.
If Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard are the current Grand Tour winners, they are their natural heirs. They went head-to-head at the 2023 Tour de L'Avenir, with the Mexican emerging as the overall winner.
"I want to believe I'm made for this," Del Toro said, trusting in his talents rather than boasting about his potential.
"To race against a friend like Giulio is super nice. He was a friend before the L'Avenir, so I know what kind of rider he is. I have beautiful memories of that race.
"It's not easy to think about being Grand Tour contenders as it's a big responsibility, for Giulio too. I wish the best for him and for myself. We'll see if we're able to do this."
