Isaac del Toro wins Tour de France stage two ahead of Tadej Pogačar as UAE Team Emirates-XRG dominate Barcelona finale
Mexican champion makes his move in the final 500 metres, with Pogačar handing his team-mate the glory
Isaac del Toro made a daring late move in the final kilometre to take the second stage of the 2026 Tour de France on an uphill finish in Barcelona.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider chased down late-attacker Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), cornering at high speed with 500 metres to go and unleashing his acceleration.
His team-mate Tadej Pogačar attacked from behind and had the beating of yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), but appeared to all his young colleague to take an historic victory in a UAE Team Emirates-XRG 1-2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) topped an impressive opening weekend by finishing third.
Vingegaard remains in the yellow jersey of race leader, but Pogačar has closed the gap from twelve to six seconds, moving into second overall. Evenepoel now sits third, 15 seconds down.
General Classification contenders Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM) and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) took on minimal losses on the stage, conceding three seconds to Pogačar and Vingegaard.
Del Toro claimed his first Tour de France stage win on his debut, and what's more, took Mexico's first win at the race in 36 years, since Raúl Alcala claimed stage 7 in 1990.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG controlled the finale as the riders took on the famous Côte du Château de Montjuïc three times. American Brandon McNulty took charge of the race, discouraging any rivals from making an early attack.
On the final time up the climb Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) lit up the race with a late move, which was countered first by Richard Carapaz (EF Education First-EasyPost) and then Skjelmose, who moved on the descent into the final rise to the line.
Del Toro pulled on the front of the bunch in pursuit of the Dane before launching his own move. Vingegaard chased the Mexican champion, but looked more interested in Pogačar who swerved to the opposite side of the road, allowing Del Toro to create a gap and make more history for Mexico.
"You cannot believe how it feels now for me, especially for my country. Everything that's going on is just insane, really," an elated Del Toro told the TV interviewer after the finish.
"We were going super fast. We predicted this can happen. In the top of the climb, I was not able to be in the top position, but then I was able to bring back Skjelmose. We made a plan for Tadej and I did it. But at the end, the gap was bigger, so I just went with the flow to the finish line."
Since winning the Tour de l'Avenir in 2023, Del Toro's rise has been rapid. He has become a major star back home in Mexico, winning the Mexican Sportsperson of the Year award in 2025 after coming within a day of claiming the Giro d'Italia.
On the 2026 Tour's second stage, Del Toro ascends to even greater heights.
"These kind of opportunities don't come almost ever," Del Toro added. "I'm super proud to be able to have the level to manage this kind of situation."
Stage 3 of the Tour de France is in doubt, as local officials are set to make a decision on whether wildfires in the region should bring about the cancellation of the stage into Les Angles.
How it Happened
The second state of the 2026 Tour was billed as a one-day Classic within a Grand Tour, with a punchy finish akin to something one might see in the Ardennes.
Several teams were interested in the early breakaway. In the end, three riders broke clear, building up a maximum lead close to four minutes. The three out front were German champion Felix Engelhardt (Jayco-AlUla), Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Frank van den Broek (Picnic-PostNL).
The opening 80 kilometres contained little action before the first intermediate sprint of this year’s Tour de France. Out front, Molenaar took the full 25 points, but the real battle was from the peloton, as Biniam Girmay (NSN) out-sprinted Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in a first showing of his intentions to reclaim the green jersey he won in 2024.
Shortly after came the first categorised climb, the 6km long second category ascent of the Côte de Begues. As the breakaway’s lead melted away, UAE Team Emirates-XRG took control of the bunch through Belgian Classics rider Florian Vermeersch. Molenaar took full points over the top, but the breakaway’s advantage had fallen to under half a minute with Van den Broek dropped.
With 60km to go, Pogačar’s chief lieutenant Isaac del Toro was off the back of the bunch due to a mechanical issue. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider had to wait for some time by the side of the road and was two-and-a-half minutes in arrears, forcing the Mexican champion into a ferocious chase. The long train of team cars helped Del Toro to put out the potential fire, allowing him to return to the bunch without issues.
There was bad luck for Paul Seixas too, as the Decathlon-CMA CGM rider had a puncture as the peloton hit the final circuit. He, too, was able to come back to the group before the three laps of the Montjuic circuit. Just ahead of the laps, Engelhardt and Molenaar were caught.
On the first ascent of the Montjuic, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike moved to the front, with Brandon McNulty leading the way with reigning champion Pogačar on his wheel and Vingegaard and Evenepoel behind. The peloton was stretched out over the top, with dozens of riders ripped off the back with two more laps of the climb still to go.
Things settled ahead of the penultimate climb, and groups of riders managed to reattach themselves. McNulty took charge once more as the favourites crowded around the American’s rear wheel. The rider making his first Tour appearance since 2022 was metronomic, not requiring any collaboration as he towed the 40-strong group into the final five kilometres.
As the final time up the Montjuic began, Decathlon’s Tiesj Benoot took up the pace in support of Seixas. Pogačar moved onto his wheel, supported by Adam Yates as the favourites waited for their moment and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was dropped.
Around 20 riders approached the top with the Yates-led front group as Johannesen made the first attack with Carapaz going over the top of him. It was all neutralised, however, as Pogačar followed every move. Skjelmose was the next to go with just under 2km left, chased by Del Toro with the group behind him ahead of the final climb to the finish.
Del Toro rounded Skjelmose with 500 metres to go with Vingegaard and Pogačar just behind. The yellow jersey initially pursued the Mexican before switching to Pogačar's wheel, who allowed Del Toro to create a gap large enough to claim a famous victory.
Results
Tour de France stage two: Taragonna > Barcelona, 182km
1. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG in 03:40:01
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, all same time
5. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek
6. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
7. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United
8. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious
9. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon-CMA CGM
10. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5, all +3 seconds
General Classification after stage two
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike in 04:01:48
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +6s
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +15s
4. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +16s
5. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +19s
6. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon-CMA CGM, +42s
7. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United, +44s
8. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +45s
9. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious, +53s
10. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5, +1:00
