'The UAE Tour definitely woke me up', says Evenepoel

Remco Evenepoel was enjoying a sparkling start to 2026 with new team Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, but after topping the podium no less than six times in the build-up to the UAE Tour, his momentum stuttered in the Middle East.

"The UAE Tour definitely woke me up," Evenepoel told Het Nieuwsblad before stage 7, the morning after losing almost a minute more to champion-in-waiting Isaac Del Toro. "It was clear that this wasn't the best week, but it's only February."

The 26-year-old Belgian won the stage 2 time trial that put him into the race lead before the first mountain stage, but he then lost over two minutes on the Jebel Mobrah as Antonio Tiberi ascended into the race lead. Three days later, Evenepoel struggled again as Del Toro dominated the field on the Jebel Hafeet, and the Belgian will finish his first WorldTour race of the season in 10th overall.

"After this, I'll definitely take it a bit easier for a few days," Evenepoel went on. "I'll recover a bit from a busy month, but the coming month will also be tough with lots of training and then the Volta a Catalunya. I have to grow step by step again and hopefully, I'll be riding at a different level in Catalunya. But first, I'll go home for a few more days; it's been a long time since I've seen my family."