'A truly brutal finish' - Evenepoel, Del Toro and the UAE Tour's game-changing mountaintop

“Every disadvantage has its advantage,” was Johan Cruyff’s old maxim, and if Klaas Lodewyck is to be believed, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe applied something of that logic to Remco Evenepoel’s challenge in the first two days of the UAE Tour.

Although Isaac del Toro stole a march – and collected 10 bonus seconds – on Evenepoel on Monday’s opener, Lodewyck played down the significance of the time lost when he spoke to Het Nieuwsblad ahead of the stage 2 time trial.

“That doesn’t outweigh the disadvantages you get in the time trial,” Lodewyck said presciently, pointing to how, unlike Del Toro, Evenepoel would be able to choose his time slot and wear his own skinsuit in the 12.2km test.

As a three-time world champion in the discipline, Evenepoel would surely have expected to gain time on Del Toro in any case, but his task was helped by the circumstances of the day. Unlike a normal time trial, where riders set off in reverse order of the general classification, competitors at the UAE Tour were, with the exception of the race leader, free to pick their start times.

Evenepoel, like the bulk of the GC contenders, set off early due to the expectation that wind conditions would be less favourable later in the afternoon. Del Toro, as the red jersey of the race, had no choice but to be the last man down the start ramp and face the most challenging wind conditions.

By day’s end, Evenepoel was in the red jersey, and after putting 42 seconds into Del Toro on the stage, he starts stage 3 with 32 seconds in hand on his chief rival in the overall standings. After Del Toro’s flex on Monday, Evenepoel struck back with considerable force here, putting himself in pole position to repeat his overall victory of 2023. 

Earlier in the week, however, UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports manager Matxin Joxean Fernández downplayed the significance of the time trial in the context of the final classification at the UAE Tour. By his reckoning, the addition of the new summit finish at Jebel Mobrah on stage 3 completely changes the dynamic of the UAE Tour in comparison with years past.

“This year, I sincerely believe that the time trial will not be as decisive because the third stage is extremely tough,” Matxin told AS. “It will be a truly brutal finish.”

Since its inception in 2019, the UAE Tour has followed a similar template with summit finishes at Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet, and Evenepoel finished second on each climb when he secured overall victory in 2023, having already led his Soudal-QuickStep squad to victory in the team time trial.

This year’s route sees the regular slopes of Jebel Jais replaced by the altogether more demanding ascent of Jebel Mobrah, which rises for some 15km. It’s a climb of two distinct parts. The first section averages a stiff 7.5%, but the short descent that follows is simply the preamble to a wickedly tough finale. The last 7km average have an average gradient of just under 12%, with maximum pitches of 17%. 

There is nowhere to hide on gradients like that. After they jousted at a distance on stages 1 and 2, the scene is now set for a head-to-head contest between Evenepoel and Del Toro, the two favourites for this UAE Tour.

After moving into the red jersey on Tuesday, Evenepoel confessed that he was content that he would not be compelled to go on the attack in the mountains of this UAE Tour. “It’s better to start with a lead than with a deficit. Now the rest of the teams have to take the initiative,” he told Sporza. “This is the perfect scenario for us. Now we have to hold on to this until Sunday.”

Evenepoel has already notched up six wins in a sparkling opening stanza at Red Bull, but he is mindful that Wednesday’s stage marks a different test to the ones he has faced so far in 2026.

“It’ll be incredibly difficult,” he said. “But those hellish temperatures are the same for everyone, and the climb itself too.” 

It will be a test for Del Toro, too, of course. He enjoyed a breakout year in 2025, coming within a mountain pass of Giro d’Italia victory and notching up 16 wins across the season. In 2026, he will make his Tour de France debut in the service of Tadej Pogačar, but his leadership role at the UAE Tour is a clear indication of his future status at the team.

“Young riders always give something extra each year,” Matxin told AS. “I’m convinced Isaac has that extra something, so we’ll see him at a slightly better level than we did last year.”