UAE strikes again: Isaac Del Toro outsmarts Ben Tulett to win Milano-Torino

Isaac Del Toro has won Milano-Torino, proving to be the smartest in the sprint by holding off Ben Tulett and Tobias Halland Johannessen after an intense finale. This marks Del Toro’s first victory of the year and the 19th win for UAE Team Emirates XRG.

Milano-Torino is the oldest cycling classic on the calendar, with its first edition dating back to 1876. While most one-day races stick to a tried-and-true formula, this Milan-San Remo warm-up event has changed formats multiple times. In the early 2010s, it featured a decisive finish on the tough climb to Superga, but in 2020, the race suddenly became a sprinter’s affair, with wins for Mark Cavendish and Arvid de Kleijn. Last year, it shifted again, favoring classics specialists, with Alberto Bettiol taking victory on a brand-new course.

This year, however, the organizers returned to tradition, bringing back the historic finish. The result? The race once again featured two ascents of the Superga climb, with the finish line at the summit of the second passage. A thrilling finale to an otherwise straightforward race.

Unlike some one-day races where early breakaways have a chance, Milano-Torino is notoriously difficult for escapees. That made the efforts of Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty), Nariyuki Masuda (JCL Team Ukyo), Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Kristian Sbaragli, and Davide Baldaccini (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini) more of a publicity move than a serious bid for victory.

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Former winner woods abandons after crash

The breakaway of five riders built a maximum lead of about four minutes, but the pace in the peloton was high from the start. By halfway through the race, the average speed was nearly 46 km/h. A significant setback occurred when Michael Woods was forced to abandon. The Canadian rider from Israel - Premier Tech, who won the race in 2019 on the same finish, had to withdraw after a crash.

With 25 kilometers to go, the breakaway was nearly caught, and the battle for positioning began in the peloton as they approached the first ascent of the Colle di Superga (4.4 km at 9%). UAE Team Emirates XRG took control on the climb, setting a relentless pace that thinned out the peloton significantly, leaving only twenty riders in contention.

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Reduced peloton heads towards final climb on Colle di Superga

In the final 10 kilometers, only one breakaway rider remained. He started the final climb with a small advantage but was quickly reeled in as the peloton accelerated. The steep slopes of the Colle di Superga proved too much for many riders, reducing the front group to just a handful of favorites, including Adam Yates, Richard Carapaz, and Ben Tulett.

With just a few kilometers to go, the first serious attack came three kilometers from the finish, launched by Yates. The Brit was followed by his compatriot Tulett and teammate Del Toro, but it wasn’t enough to break the group completely. In the final kilometer, Del Toro attacked, but Tulett and Tobias Halland Johannessen managed to follow. In the sprint between the three, Del Toro proved to be the strongest, securing the victory.

Results Milan-Turin 2025

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