Del Toro in the top ten as of today; the Vuelta de Burgos begins

▲ The Ensenada-born cyclist made his stage racing debut at the 2024 Vuelta de España. Photo @isaac_deltoro_romero1

Juan Manuel Vázquez

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 5, 2025, p. a11

Mexican Isaac del Toro's career is unfolding like a vivid dream. In just over a year as a professional, he has established himself among the international cycling elite with impressive performances this season that, as of this Monday, place him among the top 10 in the world.

After a weekend of one-day racing in the Basque Country, with a fifth place finish in the San Sebastián Classic and victory at the Getxe Circuit, the Baja California native climbed to seventh place in the individual standings, above a world, Olympic, and 2022 Vuelta a España champion, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, and the experienced Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, winner of the 2019 Giro d'Italia.

The Mexican is one place below Danish star Jonas Vingegaard, a back-to-back winner of the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023. When Del Toro says that his current situation is like a dream, it's not just sporting rhetoric, but a genuine sentiment for a 21-year-old who barely debuted in 2024 and today shares qualifying and the road with the current greats.

Del Toro will compete starting today in the Vuelta a Burgos, which concludes next Saturday. This stage race will allow him to once again test his teamwork with UAE Team Emirates, given that he will not be competing in the Vuelta a España at the end of August.

Del Toro made his debut in major stage races at the 2024 Vuelta a España, but will not participate in this edition because of UAE Team Emirates regulations. According to these rules, no cyclist under the age of 25 can compete in more than one Grand Tour per year, as they believe both physical and mental exhaustion can affect the performance of rookies.

After finishing second in one of cycling's three major events, the Giro d'Italia, and winning the Tour of Austria, Del Toro missed out on the podium on Saturday at the San Sebastián Classic, but took first place a day later at the Getxo Circuit, where he became the only Latin American to win. This earned him 3,401 points, placing him seventh in the individual standings.

This Tuesday, he will be one of 14 Latin Americans competing in the Vuelta a Burgos, where he will compete alongside some memorable figures such as Colombians Nairo Quintana (winner of the 2014 Giro d'Italia and the 2026 Vuelta a España) and Egan Bernal (winner of the 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d'Italia).

Despite the excellent results, Del Toro warned Sunday against the pitfalls that can come with over-enthusiasm and said he must be very cautious. "What I'm experiencing isn't so normal, so to speak. I just want to keep enjoying myself. Anything can happen ," warned the young cyclist, who at 21 has a vivid dream.

Reuters

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 5, 2025, p. a11

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it has updated its immigration policy to restrict visa issuance to transgender women who wish to compete in women's sports.

Under the policy update, USCIS will consider the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women as a negative factor when evaluating visa petitions in categories such as O-1A for extraordinary ability, EB-1 and EB-2 green cards for highly skilled workers, and national interest waivers.

USCIS is closing a loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance of winning in elite sports is to change their gender identity and exploit their biological advantages over women , said Citizenship Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser.

Security issue

It is a matter of safety, justice, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive visas to come to the United States to participate in women's sports.

The measure aligns with the Trump administration's efforts to regulate transgender participation in athletics and follows similar policies enacted at the state level across the country.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee updated its policy last month to align it with an executive order signed earlier this year by Trump banning transgender women from competing in women's sports.

In his first days in office, the US president declared that the federal government would only recognize two genders, men and women, and has attacked transgender people through a series of decisions.

In February, he issued an executive order banning transgender athletes, allowing federal agencies to suspend funding to any institution that doesn't consider the gender assigned at birth to determine sex. This measure has been criticized by human rights advocates for discriminating against a minority of transgender athletes.

▲ Photo Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 5, 2025, p. a11

Novak Djokovic will skip the Cincinnati Open for what has officially been listed as a non-medical reason, meaning he will head into the U.S. Open without having played a match in about a month and a half. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has not competed since July 11, when he lost in the Wimbledon semifinals to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.