Isaac Del Toro stands on the verge of his first overall Deutschland Tour victory. The UAE Emirates-XRG rider claimed the leader’s Blue Jersey after the 170.8 km queen stage from Herxheim to Bad Dürkheim, heading into the final Sunday with a 52-second lead.
With around 35 km remaining, Del Toro attacked on the Rotsteig, dropping former race leader Louis Barré (Visma-Lease a Bike). Only Giulio Pellizzari of German squad Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe could hold the Mexican’s wheel. The pair steadily pulled clear of the peloton, but in the final sprint, the 22-year-old Pellizzari proved the stronger, taking the win. Barré finished 49 seconds later with the main group and slipped to second overall.
Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling) remains third in the general classification. Del Toro’s teammate Nils Politt struck a confident tone on ARD: “Nothing is ever easy to defend, but 52 seconds is a solid margin. We’ll do everything to manage it and secure the Deutschland Tour for ourselves.”
A victory would mark Del Toro’s seventh career stage race win – and his first on German soil. Sunday’s decisive fourth stage, starting and finishing in Heilbronn, spans 156.5 km and features five categorised climbs.
