Isaac Del Toro is ill: "It's not easy to finish third when you're sick."

Isaac Del Toro was visibly emotional and exhausted at the finish line at Alpe d'Huez on Saturday evening. The 22-year-old Mexican achieved a historic result— third place overall in his first Tour de France—but he openly admitted that the final week of the race had been a brutal battle, much more so than he would have liked.

The health problems that struck UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the final stretch of the Grande Boucle were already public knowledge, but until the finish at Alpe d'Huez, Del Toro had never officially confirmed that he was among the riders affected by the illness. Now he has, and his words weigh like millstones: "It's no secret that the team went through difficult times in the third week. We tried to keep it quiet so as not to give our opponents an advantage."

On stage 20, the one with a double summit finish through the Alps—Col de Sarenne and then the legendary Alpe d'Huez—Del Toro was able to count on the crucial support of Tadej Pogačar , his teammate in the yellow jersey, who literally dragged him into the group of favorites during the most difficult moments. A rare act of tactical generosity, which bore fruit.

The two finished fifth on the stage together, and at the finish line they celebrated with Del Toro's trademark bull horn gesture, which they both simultaneously repeated. A scene worth a thousand words.

On the Col de Sarenne , the last major obstacle before the final climb, del Toro managed to break away from his main rival for the white jersey, Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM. He built up a margin of 1 minute and 40 seconds over Seixas on this stage, bringing his overall advantage over the Frenchman to a remarkable 2 minutes and 14 seconds , compared to just 24 seconds previously. A decisive blow.

"The team was fantastic, I'm very grateful to Tadej. I've never been in a situation like this, I've never felt such pressure. But pressure is reserved for those who are privileged in life," Del Toro told Eurosport in the mixed zone of Alpe d'Huez.

“It’s not easy to finish on the podium when you’re sick, so I’m really happy and very grateful to the team for what they did for me,” added the Mexican.

Del Toro credited Seixas for giving him a tough time in the fight for the white jersey: "He was very strong, he tried everything. They should celebrate what they achieved as a team; they pushed hard every day, and he's a great champion. I'm just happy that the cards fell in my favor."

Already the first Mexican to win a stage at the Tour since the 1980s—when Raul Alcalá did it—Del Toro is set to stand on the final podium on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday as the first Mexican ever to secure a podium finish in the Tour de France general classification . This historic achievement comes after an already extraordinary season: victories at the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana, the UAE Tour, and the Tirreno-Adriatico, plus second place at last year's Giro d'Italia.