Evenepoel takes back control in UAE Tour ITT, but new summit finish looms

Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) lived up to his favourite status in the stage 2 ITT at the UAE Tour, beating Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) by six seconds and taking the overall race lead before Wednesday's first major climbing day.

Race leader Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) disappointed on the 12.2-kilometre course. The double Mexican national champion is ordinarily no slouch on the TT bike, but the pan-flat nature of the Hudayrirat loop contributed to an underwhelming time that landed him 27th on the day, 42 seconds slower than the TT world champion – who'd been only the fifth rider to roll down the ramp. 24 hours after his surprise stage 1 victory, a humbled Del Toro dropped to 10th overall, his deficit 32 seconds to new leader Evenepoel.

Up next is the first visit in UAE Tour history to the brutal Jebel Mobrah climb to finish stage 3, where Evenepoel will have to fend off a determined UAE Team Emirates-XRG assault on slopes exceeding 11% in gradient for the last 7 km.

Evenepoel vs UAE at the UAE Tour: The most tantalising showdown yet in 2026With six wins in a Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe jersey already this season, Evenepoel will now face fierce competition from UAE teammates Del Toro and Yates at their ‘home race’.Escape CollectiveKit Nicholson

[race_result id=9800 stage_id=90101 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]

[race_result id=9800 stage_id=90101 count=5 gc=5 year=2026]