CyclistIsaac del Toro is taking 2026 by the hornsIsaac del Toros 2025 was quite something. Eighteen victories including two stage races and a close second place on his debut Giro dItalia made it a breakthrough season for the 22-year-old Mexican. As 2026 kicks into life, he looks to be cementing himself as UAEs next super-talent, rapidly rising up the pelotons rank of Grand Tour contenders.Pacing to victoryUAE Team Emirates XRGIt was first stage, first win for Del Toro at the UAE Tour in 2026 despite it being labelled as one for the sprinters. A crash in the final 2km ruled out Lidl-Treks Jonathan Milan, who won the same stage in 2025, and Del Toro utilised the slight incline to get a jump on the field, surprising the remaining sprinters and puncheurs to snatch victory.The first big GC test of the season came with new climb Jebel Mobrah on Stage 3. The 15km test was broken into two sections with a slight downhill in the middle before a second half rising to gradients up to 18%. in places It was after the brief lull that Del Toro slid back through the peloton to his teammate Adam Yates, dousing himself in bidons of water to cool down in the UAE heat before getting dropped by the rest of the GC contenders as they started to attack. However he was just biding his time, and as the other frontrunners dropped off one by one, the bull began to rampage, working his way through the field to finish second on the day just behind Bahrain Victoriouss Antonio Tiberi.It would be a different story on Jebel Hafeet on Stage 6. Del Toro stuck at the head of the race, powering away and shaking off Tiberi in the final 3km. His pace was so ferocious he took almost 40 seconds off the previous best time on the climb, albeit assisted by a tailwind.The seven days were expected to be a showdown between Del Toro and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohes new signing Remco Evenepoel, however that tussle barely got off the ground. Evenepoel fell away on Jebel Mobrah after winning the time-trial, and lost more time on Jebel Hafeet, ultimately finishing the race tenth overall.Whats next?Zac Williams - Pool/Getty ImagesDel Toro is pencilled in for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and Itzulia Basque Country next. The white gravel roads of Tuscany are no doubt calling his name, it was here where he finished second behind Wout van Aert on Stage 9 of the Giro last year, propelling himself into the maglia rosa. UAE are heading to the race with a stacked lineup including defending champion Tadej Pogaar, so anything other than the victory will be a big disappointment. As for Milan-San Remo, its going to be all hands on deck helping the World Champion to tick it off, and with Jhonatan Narvez injured it likely up to Del Toro to deliver the finishing blow on the peloton.The stage races Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia Basque Country could prove solid hunting ground for Del Toro. With Pogaar and Joo Almeida at different races, hell have sole leadership to continue building his stage race collection, though it looks like hell face his stiffest competition of the year so far in Spain, with a face-off against former teammate Juan Ayuso and French rising star Paul Seixas on the cards.The Tour de France is the main target for Del Toro this year, though obviously not with the aim of taking the win himself. There is no better man to learn from, however, than the four-time champion looking to make it a record-tying five. Del Toro heads to France as the key superdomestique for Pogaar, and theres every chance at his current pace he could end up on the podium himself. Related Posts Bulls on parade: 6 talking points from the mens UAE Tour Is Remco Evenepoel too unreliable in stage races? Are Decathlon-CMA CGM cycling's new superteam in waiting? Cycling Spring Classics 2026: Race dates, Monuments, cobbles and live TV guide A shakeup of the hierarchyA.S.O./Charly LopezPrior to Del Toros stratospheric rise, the rung below Pogaar in the UAE Team Emirates XRG hierarchy was largely occupied by Almeida and Ayuso. but Del Toros rise and Ayusos departure certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons. Del Toro will spend his summer soaking up the sunshine in France as Pogaars lieutenant against former colleague Ayuso, while Almeida is given his chance for leadership at both the Giro and Vuelta.Almeida is a seasoned Grand Tour competitor at this point, but the 27-year-old is yet to win one, his best results a second place at the Vuelta in 2025 and third place at the Giro in 2023. With Del Toro snapping at his Portuguese teammates ankles for those Grand Tour leading roles, it might just be a race between the two to see who is firstNote: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.The post Isaac del Toro is taking 2026 by the horns appeared first on Cyclist.

The Spring Classics are about to begin. This week brings Opening Weekend, which fires the starting gun on one of the most special periods of the entire season. It will do so with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026, a race that this year will feature a star studded line up battling for victory. And Wout van...

I hope you had a great Mardi Gras this year. It truly is a magical time in the area, and especially magical to navigate it all by bike!Mardi Gras By BikeAs a mechanic at a local bike shop, and someone constantly discussing biking with anyone and everyone, its amazing to see how crucial a bike becomes to people during the season. For some working or living inside the box, its a necessity to be able to commute across parades. Others dust off their bikes to be able to avoid traffic and finding a parking spot for their car. And likely, since I have your email, youre always biking but get to enjoy side streets that suddenly turn much more pedestrian and bike friendly along the parade routes. (Or take out your bikes with sturdy tires and enjoy a crunchy ride along the route following a parade)Whatever your reason for riding, we see a surge in ridership around Mardi Gras. I started this survey years ago to try to quantify some of the change in riding around the season and get some feedback so we can see how we might be able to best improve the experience of celebrating Mardi Gras on your bicycle. I hope youll take a minute out of your day to fill out this form and help us collect some more data and please share with any of your friends/family that you know rode their bikes to or around parades.Mardi Gras by Bike SurveyBike StreetsHopefully you saw the week before Fat Tuesday, we officially launched Bike Streets New Orleans. This is an effort that several volunteers have been working on locally since 2025 to start implementing an app from developers out of Denver with a few key opportunities:Providing turn-by-turn direction to people on bikes using low-stress streetsCrowdsourcing a map where locals can suggest and vote on routes to develop a low-stress bike networkCollecting quantifiable data to support our advocacy effortsIdentifying missing connectors to the developing bike network to help us focus our advocacy effortsRight now, were primarily looking to build the ridership on the app, so if you havent signed up yet please do! All you need to do is download the app and sign up then start logging rides by selecting Ride and then clicking on the Ride button on the map when you start to ride.Get riding with Bike Streets New OrleansIf youd like to get more involved in the app and start suggesting or voting on routes, were going to host an info session that will do a deeper dive into the features of the app and how we can best use this opportunity to support biking in Greater New Orleans.Ill be hosting a Zoom meeting on Tuesday March 10th from 5:30-6:30 to dive into the following topics and answer any questions you may have about this effortWhat are we considering low-stress?How to add suggestionsHow to navigate the AppHow to upvote/downvoteOther features of the appA quick intro to Open Streets MapIf youd like to join please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/il5oEYBBS9avw91t24nuYQAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.Please reach out to me if you have and questions around either of these efforts or anything else bike related I can help you with!Thank you,David MezaCommunity Programs CoordinatorBike Easydavid@bikeeasy.org

For Stefan Kng, the difference between winning and merely being present in the Spring Classics is no longer just about form. It is structural. The Swiss rider believes cyclings elite has evolved into something far harder to crack, with the sports biggest names now almost immune to the weaknesses...

The 2026 Clsica de Almera left one of those images that fuel debate for days. In that bunch sprint, Biniam Girmay edged Milan Fretin by the narrowest margin, but the real controversy erupted over third place. At first glance - and not even the initial photo finish - made it clear whether it was Ma...

The gravel race shoes perform great but it's the striking looks that put them at the top of my shoe lineup

Its the first weekend of the racing scene this weekend and that means one thing; the prestigious Lacey Cup will get the Munster season up and running. Organised by Manor West Tralee BC, the event is in its 71st year, which is an incredible achievement. The race will takes place this Sunday, March 1st, from []

The president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associs (CPA), Adam Hansen, has publicly defended the unions decision to help fund the UCI in its legal battle with SRAM over gearing restrictions. The dispute centres on the UCIs plan to appeal the 2025 court ruling that forced it to suspend the intr...

As has become a tradition, we have not see much of the Visma | Lease a Bike yellow jerseys in the early months of the season, however this weekend, the bees will be ready to strike at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - the first race on the very important spring block. The main cards of the Dutch team are...

This week's update features points scored in stage races UAE Tour, Vuelta a Andaluca and Volta ao Algarve, as well as French one-day races Classic Var and Tour des Alpes Maritimes. You can check the previous UCI Rankings update here. It has been an action-packed week of racing, with three importan...