'This team feels like home' – Isaac del Toro commits to UAE Team Emirates-XRG until 2031

Isaac del Toro has committed to riding for UAE Team Emirates-XRG for the next five years, signing what’s believed to be one of the biggest deals in bike racing.

The 22-year-old had previously agreed to stay with his current team until 2029, but after the Mexican’s mature performances this season, UAE Team Emirates-XRG moved swiftly to agree terms and lock the prodigiously talented rider in for a further two years.

Already this year, Del Toro has tasted victory at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and enjoyed a brilliant run at the Tour de France, where he stood on the podium having finished third in GC, won a stage and took home the white jersey awarded to the best young rider. These performances backed up his stunning achievements in the 2025 Giro d’Italia, where he won stages, wore pink and finished as runner-up.

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The agreement means Del Toro has a deal that extends beyond that of his teammate and mentor Tadej Pogačar, whose current contract will see him stay with the most dominant WorldTour squad on the circuit until 2030.

It also locks him in for longer period of time than UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s two other young talents, Pablo Torres (20) and Jan Christen (22), who have both committed to the team until 2030. Whether it's enough to quell speculation about UAE's rumoured interest in Decathlon CMA CGM's 19-year-old rider Paul Seixas remains to be seen.

Although he won’t be taking part in the upcoming Vuelta a España, Del Toro has shone this season as he settled comfortably into his role as Pogačar’s lieutenant and wingman, with the Slovenian champion consistently showering his potential heir apparent with support and praise.

"This team feels like home," Del Toro wrote on the UAE Team Emirates-XRG website. "We share the same ambition, the same passion for racing and the same desire to keep getting better. Signing long-term gives me a lot of confidence because I know I’m in the right place for my future.

"We’ve already achieved some amazing victories together, but I honestly believe the best is still to come. I’m excited to keep growing with this team and fighting for the biggest races in the world."

"I’m very happy to continue this journey with UAE Team Emirates-XRG. From the moment I joined the team, everybody has believed in me and given me the best environment to develop as both a rider and a person.

"Every season I’ve learned something new from my teammates and the people working around me, and I feel that I’m improving all the time."

Having recently clipped in as News & Features Writer for Cycling Weekly, Pat has spent decades in the saddle of road, gravel and mountain bikes pursuing interesting stories. En route he has ridden across Australia's Great Dividing Range, pedalled the Pirinexus route around the Catalan Pyrenees, raced through the Norwegian mountains with 17,000 other competitors during the Birkebeinerrittet, fatbiked along the coast of Wales, explored the trails of the Canadian Yukon under the midnight sun and spent umpteen happy hours bikepacking and cycle-touring the lost lanes and hidden bridleways of the Peak District, Exmoor, Dartmoor, North Yorkshire and Scotland. He worked for Lonely Planet for 15 years as a writer and editor, contributed to Epic Rides of the World and has authored several books.