Isaac Del Toro takes stage win and leader jersey in UAE Tour on Jebel Hafeet, Evenepoel drops early
Isaac Del Toro struck in the sixth stage of the UAE Tour on Jebel Hafeet. The UAE Emirates XRG rider launched a decisive attack that dropped his rivals and secured both the stage win and the race leader’s jersey from Antonio Tiberi of Bahrain Victorious, who finished fourth. Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) took second and third place respectively.
The sixth stage featured the now familiar finish atop Jebel Hafeet (11 kilometers at 7%) and was the final opportunity to shake up the general classification. GC leader Tiberi started the stage with a 21-second advantage over Del Toro, while the rest of the GC contenders were already a minute or more behind. This made the battle for the overall seem like a duel, but several riders, including Evenepoel, were also desperate to ‘rescue’ their UAE Tour with a stage victory.
Crash involving Kelderman and Tulett
After several attempts, the day’s breakaway formed 126 kilometers from the finish, consisting of Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM), Axel Huens and Johan Jacobs (both Groupama-FDJ), Joshua Tarling and Peter Øxenberg (both INEOS Grenadiers), Mark Stewart (Modern Adventure), Mattia Gaffuri (Picnic PostNL), Owain Doull (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana). The group of nine quickly built a one-minute advantage. However, Doull dropped back to the peloton at just over 100 kilometers remaining, leaving eight escapees.
The race unfolded according to expectations: the peloton constantly kept the breakaway, which also lost Romele along the way, within striking distance. However, with 32 kilometers to go, the peloton was shaken by a crash involving three riders, including Wilco Kelderman and Ben Tulett from Visma | Lease a Bike. The biggest victim appeared to be Chris Harper of Q36.5. Kelderman and Tulett rejoined the peloton shortly afterward.
Evenepoel can’t follow, Van Wilder crashes
At the foot of the final climb, the break still held a 1:22 lead. In the first kilometer of the ascent, the break quickly fragmented as Tarling significantly raised the pace. The Brit remained at the front along with his teammate Peter Øxenberg. However, the duo faced an impossible task: with eight kilometers of climbing left, their advantage had dropped below a minute. In the peloton, Decathlon CMA CGM pushed the tempo. A kilometer later, five riders—including Tiberi, Gall, and Del Toro—briefly escaped the rest, but their lack of cooperation allowed the group behind, including Evenepoel, to catch back up.
The Belgian then tried to break away himself six kilometers from the summit, but this attempt fizzled out quickly. Next, it was Gall who accelerated with Harold Tejada on his wheel, which led to Øxenberg being caught as the last escapee. The duo gained ten seconds over the rest of the favorites, with Adam Yates pulling the group behind in support of Del Toro. Meanwhile, Evenepoel gradually dropped back in the favorites’ group and lost contact with five kilometers remaining. Shortly after, Ilan van Wilder, sixth in the GC, crashed within the favorites’ group, forcing him to chase back.
Del Toro drops Tiberi and doubles up
With just over four kilometers to go, Del Toro launched an acceleration. Only Tiberi could follow. The pair quickly reeled in Tejada and Gall due to the Mexican’s punishing pace, which also put his Italian rival in trouble. The resilient Tiberi refused to crack and hung onto Del Toro’s wheel. From behind, Plapp joined the leading duo at just under three kilometers to go. Shortly after, Del Toro launched a new attack that appeared to decisively drop Tiberi. The Italian dropped his head, and the Mexican champion seemed on course for a double victory, as his lead had already grown to nearly 25 seconds.
Del Toro cracked Tiberi – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos[/caption]
Tiberi was meanwhile struggling badly to stay with Plapp. At the start of the final flat kilometer, his deficit had grown to over 30 seconds. Del Toro never let up and took the stage win. Plapp finished second, 12 seconds down, while Gall managed to overtake Tiberi to claim third. Tiberi crossed the line 31 seconds later, relinquishing his leader’s jersey. The Bahrain Victorious rider remains in second place. Plapp moves up to third in the overall classification.
🚴🇦🇪 | Isaac del Toro wins on Jebel Hafeet! The 22-year-old Mexican doubles up and is expected to become overall winner of this UAE Tour tomorrow. Remco Evenepoel was nowhere to be seen. #cycling
Road cycling 👀 HBO Max pic.twitter.com/gY6qD9BjkC
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) February 21, 2026
