“¿Y Si Sí?” Isaac Del Toro Makes Mexico Believe “What if He Did”

Barcelona bled green today. In a beautiful equinox of Mexican summer sports, Barcelona, Spain, came alive as Isaac De Toro took stage two of the Tour de France on the day when Mexico will battle England in a marquee World Cup match in Mexico City.

Across town, the iconic green home kits of El Tri (the Mexican national soccer team) were ubiquitous. More than Spanish jerseys when Spain played Austria on Wednesday and Argentina when the city’s sporting patron saint, Lionel Messi, played on Thursday.

Yet, on the hill of the Monjuic Castle on Sunday, the shirts for El Tri might as well have been for Torito, the Little Bull. Isaac Del Toro has arrived, and Mexico couldn’t be more ready to embrace him.

“It’s an amazing experience,” said Luis, who travelled from Monterey, Mexico, to follow the Tour for seven days. “I was telling everyone, he needs to win one stage in this Tour de France. I can’t believe that was here in Barcelona. How good is this?”

“We are winning both of these things,” said Ro Flores, who travelled from Mexico City to see the opening weekend of the Tour de France. “We are going to win five or six stages at the Tour with Del Toro and win against England. And then what about Brazil? And Argentina? And France? Why not?”

That confidence seems to be the Mexican way these days, “¿Y si, sí?” he said, using the new chant from Mexico’s round of 16 World Cup run.

“What if we do?”

Mind you, this was Saturday, before the team time trial. While five or six stages seem out of reach, a brace, or even a hatrick of stages, seems more within reason. What’s more, as Tadej Pogačar has shown, even if he is still the undisputed leader of the team, the Mexican contingent is more than welcome in his coalition. Which is good for team harmony, no doubt, as the Mexican fans seem to build by the day, riding high on the combined success of athletes flying the Mexican flag. Mexico, as a sporting nation, has yearned for this kind of momentum. At different moments, it has gotten it, whether that is Chicharito in soccer or Fernando Valenzuela in baseball, whose nickname was Toro, conveniently.

Mexican’s, regardless of their favorite sports, respect their sports heroes, which makes the parallel line between the success easy to draw. The comparison isn’t lost on Del Toro himself, either.

“Of course, we have these 11 guys ripping it in football,” Del Toro said after the finish. “They are doing amazing, but to be at the same level here at the Tour de France in the hardest race ever is a dream.”

Put aside the soccer for a moment, however, and the power of what Del Toro is doing on its own is spectacular. Suddenly, cycling has a new nation at the side of the road, and it seems by all accounts this will be the fewest Mexicans on the side of the road for many years to come.

To perform at this level at the Tour, in this era of supersonic cycling and massive talents from around the world, is truly paradigm-shifting for the sport in the country.

“It’s impossible to say what it means,” said Luis, “Because if you compare cycling in Mexico, it’s not a famous sport. When you see a guy with these skills in the Tour de France, it’s another world. You imagine they are on Mars or on another planet.

“When you see your favorite player from your country in the sport that you practice winning at the Tour de France—that’s crazy.”

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