Twenty-year-old Mexican Isac del Tora rode the second day in the pro jersey and won the world tour stage: He’s going yellow!

When the attractive UEA Emirates stable decided to recruit the 20-year-old Mexican rider Isac del Tora before this season, many experts pointed out that the UAE-based stable was throwing money away unnecessarily. The Spanish and Belgian language newspapers, which are always well informed about cycling, ran headlines that spoke of the qualities of the Mexican rider from the Pacific town of Eisenada, but also pointed out two facts: that he is primarily a cyclocrosser and not a road cyclist, like most of the UAE Emirates squad, and that he is young.

Isac del Tora was an amateur until last year, and he also won the famous amateur stage race Tour de l’Avenier in the colours of the junior AR Monex Pro Cycling team U19, which means that the Mexican was riding for a continental team registered in San Marino, but not among the amateur seniors, but the juniors.

Yet the UAE Emirates team paid big money for his transfer and put him right into the first stage worldtour race of the season, the Tour Down Under, which is being held in Australia. Tora rode his second stage among the pros and, world wonder – he won it.

In the 142km stage between the Australian towns of Norwood and Lobethal, he let a favoured group with home star Luke Plapp (Australian team Jayco-AlUla) go by, only for the peloton to finally pull away just before the end of the stage, and the home stable Jayco-AlUla was already slowly setting up a spurt for their number one sprinter, Australian Caleb Evans, a “speedster” on a bike with an Australian passport and Korean roots.

The peloton pull away, but ten kilometres to go Isac del Tora started to pass

But with ten kilometres to go in the town of Lobethal on Fox Creek Hill, it was Tora who started to pass. At that point, many riders and peloton escorts thought the homesteader and water carrier from Mexico was just giving someone a long spurt.

But things turned out to be very different as the 20-year-old passed everyone and won stage two of the Tour Down Under. The next day he rode amongst the pros and not only did he win straight away, but on top of that he donned the yellow jersey for best rider after his second pro stage.

A sensation? Not for the real connoisseurs. The new Eddy Merckx, this time from Mexico? Maybe! The fact is that on the very next day in the professional jersey, he showed the UAE Emirates stable that they had bought in superbly.

Second went to home Australian Corbin Strong and third to Stephen Williams from Great Britain (both from the Israel – Prima Tech stable), with Eritrean Biniam Germany from Intermaché-Wanty finishing fourth (this African was on the podium in the first stage).

But most importantly, far behind in the losers’ field were such stars as Frenchman Julie Alaphiliippe, Dutchman Bauke Mollema and Australian Luke Plapp.

Source: Cycling News