Giro d’Italia 2025: Adam Blythe hails raw talent Isaac del Toro as ‘younger version’ of Tadej Pogacar after impressive Grand Tour display

Adam Blythe waxed lyrical about Isaac del Toro and believes that the Mexican’s cavalier attitude is similar to that of iconic UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Tadej Pogacar.

Blythe spoke about the intriguing dynamic between the precocious talent of Del Toro and Ayuso, and he admired the former’s gutsy, gung-ho approach to racing.

Speaking on The Breakaway, Blythe said: “I think for the team it’s generally easier to manage him [Del Toro], I think it’s just hard to hold him back in racing.

“When you’ve got good legs like he had two days ago, trying to keep a rider like that under control can be very difficult. I think compared to Ayuso, Ayuso seems a lot more calculated and a lot more of a Grand Tour rider, whereas Del Toro is, for me, a younger version of Tadej [Pogacar].

“He just wants to go, go, go and feel his way around the bunch. I think it’s interesting what he said in his interview when he said, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, we’ll see what happens’.

“He’s a bike racer, I think he wants to get stuck in. As long as he doesn’t really put Ayuso out the back, I can imagine he’ll just go for it tomorrow, and why not?

“He’s in pink, he wants to enjoy it, which he clearly is, but I don’t think he’s just sitting back and going, ‘He’s the leader’. I think he’ll have a point to prove and say, ‘I’m in this jersey for a reason, back me and watch what I can do.'”

Meanwhile, Primoz Roglic was one of the day’s big winners after gaining 1:07 on Del Toro – a feat even more remarkable after the Slovenian’s crash in a recon ride.

The achievements were not lost on The Breakaway team, as Robbie McEwen and Blythe spoke in awe regarding the Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe racer’s resilience.

“He has taken time back on all the main rivals,” said McEwen. “He took a massive chunk back on Del Toro. We talk a lot about this with Roglic so much, how resilient he is, his bounce-back-ability.”

Blythe was in disbelief about Roglic’s display, and added: “I genuinely think he’s got a twin. I think he’s got a twin.

“If you think about this, when he did that recon today, he had the bandage on his left knee to cover up a cut. Can you see a cut on his left knee, because I can’t see anything?

“Number two, in his interviews he’s been completely free and completely open, just a different Roglic to what we’re used to.”