PECCIOLI, Madrid, 12th September, 2025 (WAM) -- UAE Team Emirates-XRG's superstar Isaac Del Toro added the Coppa Sabatini to his rapidly growing list of victories, taking his third win in Italy in as many days and cementing an outstanding run for the Emirates team.

Del Toro surged away from a lead group of three riders in the closing kilometres on the challenging circuits around Peccioli. With 7 km to go he launched a decisive move, and in the final uphill charge he outpowered Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Ben Granger (MG.K Vis Construzioni e Ambiente) to cross the line first.

The 197.6 km route featured repeated rolling terrain and select climbs, culminating in a demanding finale that favoured aggressive riding and sharp tactics.

Meanwhile, over at La Vuelta a Espana, Joao Almeida piled on the pressure in the fight for the Maillot Rojo. Beginning the day with a 50-second deficit to race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man earned back 10 seconds in the stage 18 individual time trial, setting up a grandstand finish to the general classification battle on Saturday.

The Portuguese rider finished in third place on Thursday afternoon, with Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers taking the day's honours. On the 12.2km-long course, UAE Team Emirates-XRG impressed across the board, with Ivo Oliveira taking his first top 5 result in a Grand Tour, and Jay Vine producing an exceptional display to take second.

The Australian specialist came within a second of beating Ganna, but ultimately fell just short of the Italian's stage-winning time. Of course, Vine continues to wear the King of the Mountains jersey, and will be pivotal to Almeida's plans to take the race to Vingegaard on stage 20.