Del Toro triumphs in Australia's final stage: "As soon as I get on the bike, I give everything I have"

If there's one man who has made his presence felt this week in the Tour Down Under, it's Mexican Isaac del Toro of UAE-Team Emirates. The versatile rider was on his toes again in the final stage to Mount Lofty, securing a spot on the final podium. "It could have been better," he said somewhat self-critically after the stage.

Del Toro entered the second stage through the front door with a double strike, but had to relinquish the leader's jersey on Willunga Hill to Stephen Williams. In the final stage, he did everything he could to set things right, but ultimately a third place in the overall classification was the best the rider from Central America could achieve.

He himself couldn't quite come to terms with that yet. "Phew, I tried and that's nice. For my first experience, it would have been better if I had won, but this is also good. Although, it could have been better. I tried to take back the seconds and, more importantly, enjoyed my first WorldTour race."

Del Toro: "As soon as I get on the bike, I give everything I have and even more"

"I need to keep learning and doing my best," he asserts. "In cycling, you never know what to expect, but what I do know is: as soon as I get on the bike and start spinning those the pedals, I give everything I have and even more. I did that again in this race, but it turned out not to be enough. Better luck next time," says the winner of the young rider classification in the Australian stage race. "I didn't even know that yet, but that's cool."

Del Toro overtook Oscar Onley in the overall standings, thus finishing third, behind winner Williams and second-place Jhonatan Narváez.