Remco Evenepoel falters in first mountain stage of UAE Tour, Tiberi wins ahead of miraculous Del Toro
The first mountain stage in the UAE Tour has left its mark. The main conclusion: Remco Evenepoel will not win the race this year. The Belgian had an off-day on the steep slopes of Jebel Mobrah and lost a lot of time to Antonio Tiberi, who secured a double victory. The Italian held off Isaac Del Toro.
For the pure climbers, Tuesday’s flat time trial was about limiting the damage as much as possible, to strike back the following day. The finish of the third stage was at Jebel Mobrah, a newcomer to the UAE Tour. The climb is shorter than the well-known Jebel Jais, which is no longer in the race, but much steeper. A solid thirteen kilometers had to be climbed at a roughly eight percent gradient.
And that average is quite misleading due to a milder start and a small descent halfway through. The last seven kilometers, however, are monstrous. They average a punishing twelve percent gradient, with sections soaring up to 17%. In short: today the wheat was (finally) separated from the chaff.
Alpecin-Premier Tech on the attack
One consolation for the riders: until this ‘Angliru of the Emirates,’ the stage was almost completely flat. This was enough reason for Silvan Dillier and Jonas Rickaert to go all-out from the start. The two Alpecin-Premier Tech riders joined forces and quickly built up a six-minute lead. The peloton showed no panic yet. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, leader Evenepoel’s team, kept the breakaway within sight.
Nevertheless, the two escapees still had a lead as they started the final climb but were caught before the truly steep sections. That triggered Chris Harper to attack. The Australian climber—who rides for Pinarello-Q36.5 this season—managed to gap the group but never had a realistic shot at the stage win. With about seven kilometers left, on a flatter stretch leading to the brutal climbing kilometers, he was reeled back in.
Evenepoel falls apart
The already heavily thinned peloton completely shattered on the first steep slopes of Jebel Mobrah. Junior Lecerf decided to shake things up but was soon brought back by Felix Gall. The Austrian took Antonio Tiberi and leader Evenepoel in his slipstream, but the Italian and Belgian were soon mercilessly dropped. And Del Toro? He had to fall behind much earlier and seemed to be losing everything.
Emphasis on seemed, because the Mexican fought his way forward at his own pace, while Evenepoel had to let more and more riders go. In fact, the Belgian—who dominated this season—suffered from apparent cramps and completely collapsed. While Evenepoel appeared to be losing his chances for the overall victory, Tiberi found a second wind.
Tiberi breaks away, but Del Toro makes a true comeback
The Bahrain Victorious leader managed to catch the wheel of the earlier escapee Gall, dropped the Austrian, and then built a very nice lead. Was the Italian on course for a double victory? It certainly looked like it, but Del Toro was not to be underestimated. The Mexican champion had a miraculous resurgence, passed everyone, and even chased after Tiberi.
Entering the final kilometers, the gap between leader Tiberi and his closest pursuer Del Toro had shrunk to just fifteen seconds, so anything was still possible. The tenacious Tiberi held on, won a memorable stage, and took over the overall lead. Del Toro finished second and now stands as the closest challenger to the Italian in the battle for overall victory.
After these two matadors crossed the line, Lennert Van Eetvelt proved to be the best of the rest. The Lotto-Intermarché leader neatly finished third, ahead of Harold Tejada and Gall. And Evenepoel? He lost over two minutes and can probably forget about the overall victory now.
