Contract extension: Isaac del Toro to stay with UAE until 2031

UAE Team Emirates-XRG has secured the Mexican climber’s long-term commitment to the team. The contract extension comes just a few weeks after his podium finish at the Tour de France and ensures the team retains one of its most promising riders for the coming years. At the same time, however, the contract extension also means that he will not be able to contest the general classification at the Tour de France for the time being, as Tadej Pogačar is the team’s undisputed leader.

A successful 2026 season

Del Toro has achieved the best results of his career this season. He finished third overall in the Tour de France, won a stage and won the young rider classification. Earlier in the year, he had already won the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The Mexican joined the team in 2023 following his victory in the Tour de l’Avenir and has continued to develop steadily ever since.

Del Toro is pleased with the contract extension. The team has placed its trust in him right from the start and provided the best conditions for his development as a rider. He learns more every season from his team-mates and the team environment, and feels at home within the team. This long-term commitment gives him security for his future career, says the 22-year-old. The Mexican gets on particularly well with Tadej Pogačar. To support Pogačar in the Tour de France, Del Toro even opted out of this year’s Giro d’Italia, where he could have competed as team captain.

Poker for Paul Seixas

​However, the extension of Isaac del Toro’s contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG may not just have resolved an important personnel issue. At the same time, the decision is also likely to have implications for the future of another exceptional talent: Paul Seixas.

According to sources close to the team, negotiations with Del Toro are said to have stalled in the meantime, whilst the UAE were simultaneously exploring the possibility of signing the Frenchman. Seixas is regarded as one of the greatest talents of his generation and has been linked with numerous top teams for months.

However, given Del Toro’s long-term contract, which runs until the end of 2031, the question now arises as to whether Seixas would even have the necessary scope for development at UAE. With Tadej Pogačar, the team already has the dominant rider of the current era, whilst Del Toro has established himself as a future Grand Tour captain with his third-place finish in the 2026 Tour de France. If Seixas were also to join the team from the Emirates, UAE would have several riders in its ranks with ambitions to challenge for the general classification in the major stage races.

A boon for cycling?

From a sporting perspective, such a scenario would certainly weaken the competition significantly and put the UAE in an even stronger position for years to come. At the same time, internal rivalries and difficulties in defining roles would be almost inevitable. Young riders in particular, with the potential of a Seixas, often seek an environment in which they can take on the responsibility of team captain themselves in the medium term.

It therefore seems increasingly likely that Seixas will either remain with Decathlon CMA CGM, where he is under contract until the end of 2027, or look for an alternative in the long term. Del Toro’s contract extension could therefore be far more than just an important signal for the future of UAE Team Emirates-XRG. It could also be a decisive indication that the paths of the team and Paul Seixas will not cross after all. In terms of the excitement of the coming years, this scenario is certainly good news.