Isaac del Toro cracks Jebel Hafeet climbing record with standout performance

The conditions were perfect as a tailwind of roughly 5 m/s swept across the exposed sections of the climb, lifting speeds and setting the stage for a fast day on Jebel Hafeet.

Jebel Hafeet is the UAE Tour finish that usually decides the race, and the numbers over the past decade show how quickly the ascent has evolved. Tanel Kangert won in 2016 in 29:15. Since then, the best times have dropped into the 26 minute range, including Tadej Pogacar’s 26:16 in 2021 and again in 2022, and Adam Yates’ 25:53 in 2023. Until Saturday, Yates held the fastest mark.

Today, that same Yates played a crucial role in helping Del Toro break the record. With UAE Team Emirates-XRG setting a hard tempo from the base, the group of contenders was quickly reduced. Yates then drove the pace deeper into the climb before Del Toro attacked with 4.2km to go, with only Antonio Tiberi able to follow at first.

Del Toro kept lifting the speed with repeated accelerations, and after Luke Plapp bridged across inside 3km to go, the Mexican kicked again to force the decisive split. He went clear to the summit to stop the clock at 25:15, with Plapp second and Felix Gall third, while Tiberi cracked late and conceded time.