UAE Tour 2026, February 16-22

[Karl Merckx]

an up and comer like 5 years younger

3 years and 10 months, he is not that young.

 

[search]

Start order for tomorrow's ITT (pdf). Hardly any GC guys in the 2nd half (unless you count Dunbar as one), apart from del Toro in last.

https://urlsand.esvalabs.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwgbxra.clicks.mlsend.com%2Ftd%2Fc%2FeyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjY5ODA5NSxcImxcIjoxNzk1NzExNDI3MzcwMDQxNzUsXCJyXCI6MTc5NTcxMTU3MTY0MzYxNjQ4fSIsInMiOiI4NzY2MjI4YmJlOTBkYWNkIn0&e=ef878189&h=d79a9718&f=y&p=y

 

[Berniece]

Start order for tomorrow's ITT (pdf). Hardly any GC guys in the 2nd half (unless you count Dunbar as one), apart from del Toro in last.

https://urlsand.esvalabs.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwgbxra.clicks.mlsend.com%2Ftd%2Fc%2FeyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjY5ODA5NSxcImxcIjoxNzk1NzExNDI3MzcwMDQxNzUsXCJyXCI6MTc5NTcxMTU3MTY0MzYxNjQ4fSIsInMiOiI4NzY2MjI4YmJlOTBkYWNkIn0&e=ef878189&h=d79a9718&f=y&p=y

Gonna be fun for Evenepoel to sit in the hotseat for 2-3 hours

 

[Samamba]

Gonna be fun for Evenepoel to sit in the hotseat for 2-3 hours

Unless Tarling beats him

 

[Cycling111]

Yeah, because Tarling is also riding the ITT, and he could've taken a big step forward.

Mistake. I meant the mountain stage. I want a strong Remco in the Tour, although I still think the gap with Vingegaard is too big in the mountains.

But it would be great if he won this UAE Tour in mountain stage convincingly.

 

[Berniece]

Mistake. I meant the mountain stage. I want a strong Remco in the Tour, although I still think the gap with Vingegaard is too big in the mountains.

But it would be great if he won this UAE Tour in mountain stage convincingly.

Catalunya is much more important in that regard for me

 

[KoopaCycling]

Evenepoel won Vuelta at age 22, Del Toro has been unhampered in a UAE fueled progress and finished 2nd in the giro last year. If Del Toro got even better and red circled this year UAE Tour, whilst remco real goals are later i do no see why he would not be able to challenge Remco here. I do not think the gap between Remco and Jonas is that big. If Remco improves and Jonas drops a bit he can beat him this year. Pogacar i think will remain difficult. But maybe he won't need to beat him to win the overall for various reasons.

 

[Cycling111]

Catalunya is much more important in that regard for me

Yes, because it's closer to the Tour de France and Vingegaard will be there.

But we're talking about Remco wanting to aim for second place in the Tour (that's what he's said). To beat Vingegaard, he has to be far superior to the rest in mountains. That starts with winning here.
Doubts could also return if Del Toro defeats him easily.
Del Toro isn't reliable on such a tough climb either. Ciccone beat him in Burgos.

 

[Red Rick]

Who was 2nd in the Giro last year and lost it because of a tactical blunder...

Well I simply disagree he was almost 2 minutes down on the Finestre for the fun of it

But had Evenepoel lost a Giro to Simon Yates nobody would frame that as a great success

 

[Berniece]

Yes, because it's closer to the Tour de France and Vingegaard will be there.

But we're talking about Remco wanting to aim for second place in the Tour (that's what he's said). To beat Vingegaard, he has to be far superior to the rest in mountains. That starts with winning here.
Doubts could also return if Del Toro defeats him easily.
Del Toro isn't reliable on such a tough climb either. Ciccone beat him in Burgos.

Because Remco comes from altitude, different beast compared to now

 

[Rou]

Start order for tomorrow's ITT (pdf). Hardly any GC guys in the 2nd half (unless you count Dunbar as one), apart from del Toro in last.

https://urlsand.esvalabs.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwgbxra.clicks.mlsend.com%2Ftd%2Fc%2FeyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjY5ODA5NSxcImxcIjoxNzk1NzExNDI3MzcwMDQxNzUsXCJyXCI6MTc5NTcxMTU3MTY0MzYxNjQ4fSIsInMiOiI4NzY2MjI4YmJlOTBkYWNkIn0&e=ef878189&h=d79a9718&f=y&p=y

So why exactly are the riders starting in that order?
Why exactly are the results from today not taken into account?

 

[Samamba]

So why exactly are the riders starting in that order?
Why exactly are the results from today not taken into account?

Because those are the rules in the UAE Tour for some reason. Is every year like this

 

[Rou]

Because those are the rules in the UAE Tour for some reason. Is every year like this

I see. The sheikhs can do everything they want with their money.

 

[Rob5091]

Any news on Milan's injuries?

 

[search]

So why exactly are the riders starting in that order?
Why exactly are the results from today not taken into account?

Teams don't have their own team cars etc in Abu Dhabi, afaik, which is why they do it like a prologue. With a normal start order they would risk to not be able to follow some of their important riders.

So it makes sense, but consequence should obviously be that they do a prologue, and not a stage 2 ITT.

 

[Jan the Man]

Remco should take the stage based on his from and pedigree but Tarling will probably be very close to him on this course and distance. Otherwise they will be in a league of their own.

 

[Cycling111]

Evenepoel won Vuelta at age 22, Del Toro has been unhampered in a UAE fueled progress and finished 2nd in the giro last year. If Del Toro got even better and red circled this year UAE Tour, whilst remco real goals are later i do no see why he would not be able to challenge Remco here. I do not think the gap between Remco and Jonas is that big. If Remco improves and Jonas drops a bit he can beat him this year. Pogacar i think will remain difficult. But maybe he won't need to beat him to win the overall for various reasons.

Remco has never dropped Vingegaard in a mountain. And Vingegaard, has dropped Remco several times, sometimes by a considerable margin. Unless he proves otherwise this year, there is indeed a significant difference between him and Vingegaard in mountain.

Regarding winning the Vuelta at 22, that's fine, but many riders have won a Giro or Vuelta at a young age and then never won another. Danilo Di Luca por example. It hardly matters now compared to Tour podium contenders who weren't even professionals in 2022.
Remco has had more bad days than good ones in the high mountains; he hasn't won a GT since then, nor even one of the seven major one-week races. Until he proves otherwise, there's nothing to suggest he's anywhere near Vingegaard, who has always dropped him. At least he'll have to dropped Vingegaard one day to think that. Maybe Catalunya.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Remco has never dropped Vingegaard in a mountain. And Vingegaard, has dropped Remco several times, sometimes by a considerable margin. Unless he proves otherwise this year, there is indeed a significant difference between him and Vingegaard in mountain.

Regarding winning the Vuelta at 22, that's fine, but many riders have won a Giro or Vuelta at a young age and then never won another. Danilo Di Luca por example. It hardly matters now compared to Tour podium contenders who weren't even professionals in 2022.
Remco has had more bad days than good ones in the high mountains; he hasn't won a GT since then, nor even one of the seven major one-week races. Until he proves otherwise, there's nothing to suggest he's anywhere near Vingegaard, who has always dropped him. At least he'll have to dropped Vingegaard one day to think that. Maybe Catalunya.

So? We're talking about the divide between Remco and Vingegaard. Vingegaard has more weaknesses than Pogacar. And the gap between him & remco in 24 was only 3 minutes. I stand by my statement that Remco only needs to slightly improve and Jonas only needs to slightly drop in the high mountains for a GT battle to become competitive between them. Remco won't take time on Pogacar in a LBL like stage, but he can take time on Jonas.

 

[Cycling111]

So? We're talking about the divide between Remco and Vingegaard. Vingegaard has more weaknesses than Pogacar. And the gap between him & remco in 24 was only 3 minutes. I stand by my statement that Remco only needs to slightly improve and Jonas only needs to slightly drop in the high mountains for a GT battle to become competitive between them. Remco won't take time on Pogacar in a LBL like stage, but he can take time on Jonas.

He has more weaknesses, but in the mountains at the Tour he is still second with a considerable difference to the rest.

 

[Tim Cahill]

I'd like to commend the organisers on a great official race poster, detailing all the relevant riders.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I think the gap between Remco and Vingegaard has been big. They are in different tiers. But with Vingegaard’s wife clearly wanting him to pull back the intensity, him potentially hitting the all 3 GT wins goal this year, and the coaching turnover, I wouldn’t be surprised if Vingegaard starts slipping from his high water mark, shrinking the gap to Remco independent of his trajectory. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it stays the same or increases. Remco just has not been able to maintain consistency in climbing performances. His best has been very good, but for a random mountain stage in a GT, if I’m picking horses, I’d pick him after Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic, Almeida, and Lipowitz. He’s just too likely to crack.

 

[KoopaCycling]

I think the gap between Remco and Vingegaard has been big. They are in different tiers. But with Vingegaard’s wife clearly wanting him to pull back the intensity, him potentially hitting the all 3 GT wins goal this year, and the coaching turnover, I wouldn’t be surprised if Vingegaard starts slipping from his high water mark, shrinking the gap to Remco independent of his trajectory. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it stays the same or increases. Remco just has not been able to maintain consistency in climbing performances. His best has been very good, but for a random mountain stage in a GT, if I’m picking horses, I’d pick him after Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic, Almeida, and Lipowitz. He’s just too likely to crack.

Sure, you can feel that way. I've seen remco crack only once when healthy, when he faded under Visma pressure on the Tourmalet. That's about it. But to each it's own.

I also have Vingegaard ahead of remo atm. I'm just saying the gap is not as great imo as people claim. And that I think that remco can battle Vingegaard for a GT win under already mentioned conditions.

People last year felt Almeida had a chance in the Vuelta. I don't rate Almeida. Not enough winner mentality. It's why i already have Del Toro ahead of him in my pecking order. The way i see it, if Almeida has a chance, then remco definitely has one.

 

[EddyMazzoleni]

Is there like any detailed profile of the new climb or are the rider just gonna randomly select their pacing strategy?

 

[AmRacer]

Sure, you can feel that way. I've seen remco crack only once when healthy, when he faded under Visma pressure on the Tourmalet. That's about it. But to each it's own.

I also have Vingegaard ahead of remo atm. I'm just saying the gap is not as great imo as people claim. And that I think that remco can battle Vingegaard for a GT win under already mentioned conditions.

Cracking only one time? So the 'when healthy' is just another excuse.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Cracking only one time? So the 'when healthy' is just another excuse.

Also reality. easy to laugh, less easy to disprove it.