Mexico’s newest superstar makes a winning return to racing in Austria
Making a late burst for the line in St. Johann Alpendorf, Isaac del Toro won stage 2 of the Tour of Austria, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Felix Großschartner retaining the race lead with a fourth-place finish.
The young Mexican marks a winning return to racing, with the Tour of Austria proving his first racing appearance since his Giro d’Italia runner-up spot in May. With a fantastic turn of speed over the final 200m of stage 2, Del Toro charged past AJ August of Ineos Grenadiers, sealing his third victory of the season.
Earlier in the stage, UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates Florian Vermeersch and Julius Johansen had combined to keep a five-man breakaway in close quarters. Under their steam, the peloton approached the final 2.4km-long climb to the finish line at the head of the race. Averaging 7%, the Sankt Johann im Pongau climb would decide the day’s winner.
With Rafał Majka never far from the front, it was his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Alessandro Covi who made a strong attack some 800m from the line. The Italian immediately developed a gap over the bunch and as he rounded a left-hand bend into the final 300m, it looked as though Covi would take the day’s honours.
Unfortunately for Covi, AJ August exploded from the pack and bridged the gap between the bunch and the Italian, leaving the win up for grabs inside the final 100m. At this point, Del Toro rocketed out from behind and used his explosive finish to roar across the line in first place.
Großschartner’s fourth place was enough to see him retain the race lead, with Majka remaining second overall and Del Toro moving himself one place up to fourth. After his third victory of the season, Del Toro spoke of his happiness at making a winning return to racing in Austria.
Del Toro: “I feel quite good, honestly. To be back here with the team, with the guys, the atmosphere is super nice and I am still dreaming.
“We will try to keep the leader’s jersey, and why not try to make the gap bigger [between now and the end of the race]?”
Tour of Austria 2025 stage 3 results:
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:39:27
- AJ August (Ineos Grenadiers) +5″
- Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +7″
- Rafał Majka (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +32″
Tour of Austria 2025 general classification after stage 3:
- Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 10:30:55
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +3″
- AJ August (Ineos Grenadiers) +16″
- Rafał Majka (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +38″
