UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s young guns continue to impress in the Basque Country, with Ayuso setting up a blistering solo attack by the Mexican
August 3, 2025
With a 16.5km-long solo attack, Isaac del Toro roared to his eighth victory of the season at Sunday’s Circuito de Getxo. The Mexican produced a blistering move on the final ascent of the Alto de Pike, and held his advantage over the chasers until the finish in Getxo, moving UAE Team Emirates-XRG up to 69 victories for the campaign.
Behind Del Toro, the Mexican’s teammate Juan Ayuso expertly surfed the wheels of the chasers, before sprinting to second place across the line, landing the Emirati squad another memorable 1-2 finish.
On a weekend of back-to-back one-day races in the Basque Country, Del Toro’s victory follows up from Jan Christen’s runner-up spot at Saturday’s Clásica San Sebastián. In that race, Del Toro burned bright but ultimately succumbed to fifth place on a gruelling day in the saddle, but on Sunday afternoon, the 21-year-old made his attack count.
Earlier in the day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG had maintained control of the peloton for much of the race. As a 10-man breakaway sought their glory up the road, the likes of Marcos Freire, Domen Novak and Jay Vine came to the fore, limiting the advantage that the peloton would have to close. Thanks to their efforts, the bunch came into the final of the day’s climbs at the very head of the race.
From the base of the Alto de Pike (2km at 9.6%), Ayuso unleashed a vicious pace at the front, forcing the Emirati squad’s rivals into retreat as the going got tough. With the stage set by his teammate, Del Toro burst out from the pack with 16.5km to ride, quickly opening up a 10-second gap by the top of the climb.
On the descent, Ayuso tracked the chase of Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), before Lidl-Trek’s Héctor Álvarez and Toms Skujiņš joined the pair as the road flattened out. Heading into the last 10km, the gap hung at around 20 seconds and would remain as such until the last kick up to the line in Getxo.
Ultimately, Ayuso and Aranburu proved the strongest from the mini group, with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man claiming second place with a bike throw. As for Del Toro, the Mexican celebrated his eighth win of the year, as he continued his magnificent run of form.
Del Toro: “After a really hard day yesterday in San Sebastián, we find again the good legs like the last weeks. Yesterday was super good, and today also with the team, the guys are trying to fight super well. It is something I am super proud to be part of.
“Thanks to the guys, me and Juan are able to fight [for the win] again, and try to do again first and second. It was a super nice day for us, we suffered with the heat and also with the level of the race, but we enjoyed today and we suffered until the end.”
2025 Circuito de Getxo results
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:59:10
- Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +10″
- Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) s.t
