UAE Tour 2026, February 16-22

[Red Rick]

Great job of making an entertaining climb and performance sound so dull/boring.

It's a dull, predictable, and frankly it does my *** head in when people praise idiocy like that.

 

[Tim Cahill]

So were Dillier and Rickaert just prepping for riding on the front at Roubaix until Arenberg?

MSR, we will be seeing a lot of them again, including the always entertaining opening few K when they gesticulate to others a bit then wonder who they're kidding and ride the next 250k on the front.

 

[Salvarani]

It's a dull, predictable, and frankly it does my *** head in when people praise idiocy like that.

Yeah, it was a really "predictable" outcome of the stage. Most really knew what was gonna happen at all times during the climb. No surprises or twists at all.

Totally feel you on that dude.

 

[tobydawq]

It's a dull, predictable, and frankly it does my *** head in when people praise idiocy like that.

Didn't he just do exactly what Froome used to do in the Vuelta and what Almeida always does?

But because it's Del Toro whom you don't like, it's the dumbest thing ever. Better do it like Gall and Remco.

 

[Red Rick]

Didn't he just do exactly what Froome used to do in the Vuelta and what Almeida always does?

But because it's Del Toro whom you don't like, it's the dumbest thing ever. Better do it like Gall and Remco.

No. Froome never rode like this, and Almeida not really either. Both would leave gaps when they were on the limit, but Del Toro wasn't. And both Froome and Almeida would typically not do weird stop start moves when chasing a gap. Almeida especially mostly just drills the pace from the front.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Didn't he just do exactly what Froome used to do in the Vuelta and what Almeida always does?

But because it's Del Toro whom you don't like, it's the dumbest thing ever. Better do it like Gall and Remco.

Yes that's what it reminded me of, La Camperona 2014, amongst several others

13:50 when he comes back.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

He starts too far back, climbs very slow at the beginning, then he makes a big surge to get back to the chase group, then starts flicking his elbow, than makes a big effort to drop his group, and then doesn't take any time back on Tiberi in the final km.

Pure grinta

 

[Pozzovivo]

Just a collection of comments that amused me when reading through today's post:

Is there any evidence whatsoever to date that del Torro is a better climber than Remco?

Today is tough to call.

Let today mark the first day of collecting evidence on that.

What will be the gap between Remco and Rondel today?

BIG to the advantage of Rondel

Remco will win with +30 seconds

...

As suspected, gave up some climbing and improved his sprint

He's always climbed like this though

Lovely measured acceleration from Remco Evenepoel by the way

Lovely...

It woud be really funny if van Wilder gaps Evenepoel today.

It was quite funny but also sad.

 

[Red Rick]

If you can't tell the Spaniards started out way too fast on Camparona 2014 then I don't know what to tell you

 

[Tim Cahill]

If you can't tell the Spaniards started out way too fast on Camparona 2014 then I don't know what to tell you

Yes, looks like they started out too fast today too, with Del Toro doing his biggest effort in the last 10, very well-measured ride from the Young Mexican lad and another great similarity, thanks Rick.

Here's Froomey doing exactly the same thing the day after;

Plus some of the 2012 Vuelta if memory serves, cba digging it up though.

 

[Red Rick]

Yes, looks like they started out too fast today too, with Del Toro doing his biggest effort in the last 10, very well-measured ride from the Young Mexican lad and another great similarity, thanks Rick.

Here's Froomey doing exactly the same thing the day after;

Plus some of the 2012 Vuelta if memory serves, cba digging it up though.

Tiberi didn't start too fast lol what.

Also, you're literally posting a video where Froome loses absolute minimum while being clearly worse. That textbook yoyoing.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Tiberi didn't start too fast lol what.

Also, you're literally posting a video where Froome loses absolute minimum while being clearly worse. That textbook yoyoing.

The group did start fast, which is why they mostly ended up getting dropped pretty handily by Del Toro without much of a change in pace, they had completely overextended themselves after attacking early and some lost quite a bit of time at the end (Gall, Plapp, Tejada). He did the right thing hanging back, partly because he didn't then end up in too much of a pissing contest for half the climb, could use Yates and didn't redzone himself like Remco, which is how he seems to ride most climbs. I think he was just flat beaten by a better climber, and would've lost in most circumstances, regardless of the pacing plan, You're presupposing Del Toro was the best here but I think Tiberi's performance is better than anything has shown prior to this.

 

[Rob5091]

Is it right that UAE have been training on the climb and the other teams have not? Would explain Del Toro's yoyo-ing a bit.

 

[cafe_rider]

Is it right that UAE have been training on the climb and the other teams have not? Would explain Del Toro's yoyo-ing a bit.

UAE had been on it but Del toro had not been with them

 

[Red Rick]

The group did start fast, which is why they mostly ended up getting dropped pretty handily by Del Toro without much of a change in pace, they had completely overextended themselves after attacking early and some lost quite a bit of time at the end (Gall, Plapp, Tejada). He did the right thing hanging back, partly because he didn't then end up in too much of a pissing contest for half the climb, could use Yates and didn't redzone himself like Remco, which is how he seems to ride most climbs. I think he was just flat beaten by a better climber, and would've lost in most circumstances, regardless of the pacing plan, You're presupposing Del Toro was the best here but I think Tiberi's performance is better than anything has shown prior to this.

I'm saying you can't know because you can tell by everything Del Toro's pacing strategy was woeful.

 

[Cycling111]

UAE had been on it but Del toro had not been with them

Del Toro was training on that climb when the team did the training camp UAE.
Del Toro said so.

 

[Escarabajo]

So Soudal kept the better climber at the end!!

 

[11-34]

Perfect hindsight is not a superpower.

 

[Salvarani]

So Soudal kept the better climber at the end!!

They had two who did pretty good on Mont Ventoux last Tour.

 

[danielovichdk2]

Yes, looks like they started out too fast today too, with Del Toro doing his biggest effort in the last 10, very well-measured ride from the Young Mexican lad and another great similarity, thanks Rick.

Here's Froomey doing exactly the same thing the day after;

Plus some of the 2012 Vuelta if memory serves, cba digging it up though.

Froome ? The clinic would love that treat you are serving.

 

[Revelation]

It's a dull, predictable, and frankly it does my *** head in when people praise idiocy like that.

So many things seem to do your head in you might want to have it checked at this point.

 

[kingjr]

Froome ? The clinic would love that treat you are serving.

Froome was a treat in every respect. Fantastic rider with a touch of chaos about him. One of a kind.

 

[Red Rick]

So many things seem to do your head in you might want to have it checked at this point.

I'll leave my my head alone thank you very much, it's one of the few things left on this ball of dirt that still has any sense left.

 

[kingjr]

I'll leave my my head alone thank you very much, it's one of the few things left on this ball of dirt that still has any sense left.

Doesn't that imply that there was more sense to begin with?

 

[Tim Cahill]

Froome was a treat in every respect. Fantastic rider with a touch of chaos about him. One of a kind.

Off topic but this reminded me of a story about him. There was a group ride in Florida a few of years back, one of those charity events I think, with Froome and some of the ISN/Sky guys. Geraint Thomas saw Froome going into the bushes for what he assumed was a bathroom break and was shocked to find an excited Froome running after an alligator and trying to wrestle with it.

Cavendish all the British kids wanted to emulate, Thomas boring but the grandma's here love him for some reason, Bradley Wiggins in 2012, whatever you might think of him, at that Olympics it was like David Beckham turned up. Froome? Our most successful cyclist, it's like he has zero public profile, it's like he's been completely eliminated from history, not positive, not negative, just not there. I still have no idea if he's really Kenyan, British, South African, Monégasque, Israeli. A nowhere man.

The sharp rise/fall and noise around Sky masked just what a weird person the man Chris Froome is, even without any clinic references, it's in a cyclists nature to bluff, to lie, so unfortunately I don't think his true story will ever be told.

Sorry gone off on a tangent here, yeah UAE Tour, Remco ftw tomorrow.