Del Toro and Ayuso Suffer Major GC Blow as Seixas Dominance Leaves Pre-Race Favourites Reeling at Itzulia
The two riders who arrived at the Itzulia Basque Country as the race's most hyped young contenders are already staring at a GC deficit that looks insurmountable after just two stages. Isaac del Toro sits 2 minutes and 44 seconds behind race leader Paul Seixas in eighth overall, while Juan Ayuso has shipped a devastating 3 minutes and 55 seconds to languish in sixteenth place. For two riders earmarked as future Grand Tour champions, it is a sobering reality check in the Basque hills.
Seixas's devastating solo attack on the Category 1 ascent of San Miguel de Aralar on stage 2 from Pamplona to Lekunberri exposed the gulf between the French prodigy's current condition and that of his supposed rivals. The Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale rider accelerated seven kilometres from the summit with an intensity that nobody in the GC group could match, extending his overall lead to nearly two minutes. While Primož Roglič limited his losses to climb into second on GC, del Toro and Ayuso were left fighting for scraps further down the mountain.
Del Toro's difficulties are particularly surprising given his explosive breakthrough in 2025. The young Mexican arrived at the Itzulia with UAE Team Emirates-XRG as one of the pre-race favourites, but his opening time trial was already below expectations. Stage 2 confirmed that his mountain legs are not where they need to be. For a rider whose Tour de France ambitions in July depend on building race fitness through the spring, the alarm bells are ringing loudly at the Emirati squad.
Ayuso's situation is arguably even more concerning. The Spaniard's move to Lidl-Trek for 2026 was supposed to herald a new chapter, with the team built around his GC potential. Instead, the 23-year-old has been comprehensively outclassed by a rider a year his junior. Losing nearly four minutes in a six-day stage race — particularly one as explosive as the Itzulia — suggests a significant gap in form that will take weeks to close. His Tour de France preparation, which was supposed to gain momentum here in the Basque Country, has been dealt a significant blow.
The contrast with the riders at the top of the classification is stark. Roglič has quietly ridden himself into second place overall, the veteran Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leader demonstrating the consistent, unflappable climbing form that has won him four Vuelta a España titles. Florian Lipowitz and Mattias Skjelmose have also climbed into the top five, while Ben Tulett continues his impressive development in fifth.
Seixas himself offered a measured assessment of his position despite the commanding lead. "I don't think so — for example tomorrow is an easier stage, so we'll see how it goes. I think for now we'll just control it," he said when asked if he could win more stages. It is a remarkably composed response from a 20-year-old who is delivering the most dominant performance at the Itzulia since Roglič's own series of victories in the late 2010s.
With four stages remaining, including the treacherous mountain finishes that the Basque Country is famous for, there is still time for the established names to claw back ground. But history suggests that gaps of this magnitude in a race as short and intense as the Itzulia are rarely overturned. Del Toro and Ayuso may need to reset their ambitions and focus on salvaging what they can from a race that has so far belonged entirely to Paul Seixas.