UAE Tour 2026, February 16-22

[QueenStagiaire]

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

Dune, but it‘s all hipster art connaisseur

 

[KoopaCycling]

Lots of cyclists have had injuries/illnesses, but only Remco fans uses it as an excuse when Remco doesn't win.

Nope, show me where that is true.

Bernal has not been the same since 2022. No one would ever accept the crash as an excuse...
Beloki just dissapeared of the planet after 2003, he must have just played hide and seek too intensely.
Museeuw would not have won another Roubaix, his flat tire was just his out to hide he did not have the legs.
WVA was nowhere in some spring seasons, thankfully he never fell hard and always stayed healthy otherwise people might claim that is part of why he has so far failed to win Flanders or Roubaix.
Franck VDB did not break his 2 wrists , and rode to a third place finish in verona cause that was the best he could do.
...
i could go on forever but these came at the top of my head. some people just like to pretend remco fans have only excuses. when those excuses aren't excuses. just plain old reality they want to skip cause narrative.

Notice you did not disprove me, only dodged the question and went for the easy out of excuse.
Please do go over every time Remco cracked, and tell me why him not being healthy is not valid outside of Tourmalet.
One would think falling meters down a ravine or riding at speed into a car door would give people some perspective as to why and how. but some people just want to call those things a covenient excuse.

 

[AmRacer]

Nope, show me where that is true.

Bernal has not been the same since 2022. No one would ever accept the crash as an excuse...
Beloki just dissapeared of the planet after 2003, he must have just played hide and seek too intensely.
Museeuw would not have won another Roubaix, his flat tire was just his out to hide he did not have the legs.
WVA was nowhere in some spring seasons, thankfully he never fell hard and always stayed healthy otherwise people might claim that is part of why he has so far failed to win Flanders or Roubaix.
Franck VDB did not break his 2 wrists , and rode to a third place finish in verona cause that was the best he could do.
...
i could go on forever but these came at the top of my head. some people just like to pretend remco fans have only excuses. when those excuses aren't excuses. just plain old reality they want to skip cause narrative.

So, every time a rider doesn't perform e.g. win, it's due to illness or a crash. Can add missing altitude camp, etc. or the word starting with a letter at the end of the alphabet.

 

[KoopaCycling]

So, every time a rider doesn't perform e.g. win, it's due to illness or a crash. Can add missing altitude camp, etc. or the word starting with a letter at the end of the alphabet.

Nope not every time, i won't excuse that Tourmalet crack, alaphillipe form last few seasons, remco arrogance and mistimed jump in Catalunya against Roglic, ...

But when someone falls down a ravine or hits a car door at considerable speed. I do think it's valid. Same when one suffers from covid. I don't hold it against Almeida he did not win the Vuelta for example.

 

[AmRacer]

Nope not every time, i won't excuse that Tourmalet crack, alaphillipe form last few seasons, remco arrogance and mistimed jump in Catalunya against Roglic, ...

But when someone falls down a ravine or hits a car door at considerable speed. I do think it's valid. Same when one suffers from covid. I don't hold it against Almeida he did not win the Giro for example.

Not every time? Just some time? For a certain rider?

 

[KoopaCycling]

Not every time? Just some time? For a certain rider?

nope, you don't seem to be paying attention.

I just mentioned several other riders did i not. I just mentioned i think that Tourmalet crack was mental and i do hold that against remco. he could have finished top 5 at least had he been mentally stronger.

 

[AmRacer]

nope, you don't seem to be paying attention.

I just mentioned several other riders did i not.

Nope, you can't just single out one rider. Jonas didn't won TdF 2024 because of his crash, what does that make Remco then? Tadej didn't win 2023 due to his crash. Wout didn't win many times due to his crashes. Almeida crashed and didn't win the Vuelta....

 

[KoopaCycling]

Nope, you can't just single out one rider. Jonas didn't won TdF 2024 because of his crash, what does that make Remco then? Tadej didn't win 2023 due to his crash. Wout didn't win many times due to his crashes. Almeida crashed and didn't win the Vuelta....

Jonas did not win the tdf 24 cause he was not strong enough. Tadej did indeed not win in 23 cause of bad prep. due to injury. But that failure did help him switch gear, so in hindsight his career probably got better as a result. Wout i think would have won at least one Roubaix if not for a flat tire. I also think he should have won flanders if he went for a long sprint, making it a short sprint against MVDP was his own mistake and on him. Almeida got covid, he would have probably won the Giro of 22 i think. I think he also had to withdrew from the vuelta which is why i switched giro to vuelta in an edit, but i looked it up and it was giro 22 he prob. would have won.

So yes sometimes stuff hits the fan and reality is what it is. Some people like to call those realities excuses.

 

[Tim Cahill]

"I was a bit on the wrong side, always in the wind. I was behind the heavier sprinters who were starting to fade. I had to pass them into the wind. I wasn’t going to sprint today anyway.." - Remco Evenepoel

 

[AmRacer]

Jonas did not win the tdf 24 cause he was not strong enough. Tadej did indeed not win in 23 cause of bad prep. due to injury. But that failure did help him switch gear, so in hindsight his career probably got better as a result. Wout i think would have won at least one Roubaix if not for a flat tire. I also think he should have won flanders if he went for a long sprint, making it a short sprint against MVDP was his own mistake and on him. Almeida got covid, he would have probably won the Giro of 22 i think. I think he also had to withdrew from the vuelta which is why i switched giro to vuelta in an edit, but i looked it up and it was giro 22 he prob. would have won.

So yes sometimes stuff hits the fan and reality is what it is. Some people like to call those realities excuses.

Chris Froome would have had his fifth hadn't he crashed. Rogla would've won at least one Tour....Jonas wasn't strong enough due to his crash. Alaphilippe would've won at least one big race (again) but he crashed....Lots of What ifs.
Some people using them as excuses.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Not sure about some of those you mentioned but if you believe riding with speed against a car door is nothing more than a convenient excuse for Remco lesser 2025, be my guest.

 

[AmRacer]

Not sure about some of those you mentioned but if you believe riding with speed against a car door is nothing more than a convenient excuse for Remco lesser 2025, be my guest.

The others did also crash hard, if you haven't noticed it.

 

[Netserk]

Jonas did not win the tdf 24 cause he was not strong enough.

i agree

Tadej did indeed not win in 23 cause of bad prep. due to injury.

interesting given previous answer

if you believe riding with speed against a car door is nothing more than a convenient excuse for Remco lesser 2025, be my guest.

yeah, it wasnt a convenient excuse like broken ribs and punctured lung

 

[Cycling111]

Chris Froome would have had his fifth hadn't he crashed. Rogla would've won at least one Tour....Jonas wasn't strong enough due to his crash. Alaphilippe would've won at least one big race (again) but he crashed....Lots of What ifs.
Some people using them as excuses.

No.

 

[Berniece]

i agree

interesting given previous answer

yeah, it wasnt a convenient excuse like broken ribs and punctured lung

I think he meant to say that Pogacar was clearly better in 2024, and a perfect prep for Vingegaard wouldn’t have changed that

 

[KoopaCycling]

The others did also crash hard, if you haven't noticed it.

And if you had not noticed i agreed with many. I made it clear i believe certain riders would have won if not for covid, bad prep cause of crash, ... . I did not dismiss it like an excuse like you do. I accept that they did not win cause of certain events.

 

[Berniece]

Official marine service from UAE predicts around 3km/h of wind when the first riders leave, and around 20km/h when the last ones start

NCM - ALBAHAR

albahar.ncm.gov.ae

 

[Samamba]

Official marine service from UAE predicts around 3km/h of wind when the first riders leave, and around 20km/h when the last ones start

NCM - ALBAHAR

albahar.ncm.gov.ae

Someone ask Pinarello why they made the decision to start Dunbar late lmao. Literally only GC rider that's not starting first or 2nd of their team, apart from Del Toro ofc

 

[red_flanders]

Can someone DM me when the spats about Remco move into other threads? I'd hate to miss one.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Lots of cyclists have had injuries/illnesses, but only Remco fans uses it as an excuse when Remco doesn't win.

I will admit to having used injuries and illnesses as excuses for Roglic, Dumoulin, Contador, Wout, Andy Vingegaard.

 

[AmRacer]

No.

Yes, according to your logic

 

[AmRacer]

And if you had not noticed i agreed with many. I made it clear i believe certain riders would have won if not for covid, bad prep cause of crash, ... . I did not dismiss it like an excuse like you do. I accept that they did not win cause of certain events.

Yes, but you don't agree with all.

 

[search]

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

there is an official profile. Or what exactly are you looking for?

 

[Kazistuta]

What are you guys even discussing? Obviously crashes, mishaps etc. ARE legitimate excuses, and often there's no way of telling if a rider would have won/done better in other circumstances. One important thing as a top athlete is the mental mindset, and if the Winners gene is strong, the riders themselves will usually use (misuse?) these excuses to pad their confidence towards new goals.
Why it should be any different with fans beats me. And it's not solely on Remco fans, It's human to look for reasons to defeats, regardless if it's pure speculation or not.

With regards to todays race, Remco should win over Tarling, since his form is proven.

 

[Berniece]

Size of chainring is getting ridiculous.