UAE Tour: Isaac del Toro sprints to stage 1 victory and leader's jersey with late uphill attack as Milan crashes

UAE Tour: Isaac del Toro sprints to stage 1 victory and leader's jersey with late uphill attack as Milan crashes

The 21-year-old Mexican punched clear on the 5.9% finishing ramp at Liwa Palace after desert winds forced organisers to shorten the opening stage from 144 to 118 km, taking 10 bonus seconds on Remco Evenepoel before tomorrow's time trial.

By Peter Stuart · · 3 min read

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won a wind-shortened opening stage of the UAE Tour, attacking on the uphill drag to Liwa Palace to take the leader's red jersey and 10 bonus seconds over pre-race favourite Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). Organisers cut the route from 144 to 118 km mid-race, citing safety concerns over high winds and blowing sand on the exposed Tel Moreeb cycle track.

The 5.9% gradient over the final 700 m created time gaps between GC riders. A crash at a roundabout with 1.5 km remaining took down Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), a sprint favourite after back-to-back wins at the AlUla Tour. Milan finished the stage but was visibly in pain.

Results

Madinat Zayed Majlis - Liwa Palace • Feb 16 • 144km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Isaac del Toro Romero
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG 2:30:56
🥈
Cees Bol
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
🥉
Antonio Tiberi
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
4
Matteo Malucelli
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
5
Alessandro Romele
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
6
Ilan van Wilder
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
7
Riley Pickrell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
8
Lennert van Eetvelt
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
9
Ethan Kane Vernon
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
10
Tobias Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
11
Ben Tulett
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
12
Jonas Geens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
13
Afonso Eulálio
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
14
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
15
Madis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
16
Sebastian Kolze Changizi
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
17
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
18
Tijmen Graat
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
19
Gerben Thijssen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
20
Remco Evenepoel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
21
Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
22
Mathys Rondel
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
23
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
24
Luka Mezgec
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
25
Ben O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
26
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
27
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
28
Adam Richard Yates
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
29
Georg Steinhauser
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
30
Lev Gonov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
31
Gregor Mühlberger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
32
Harold Martin Lopez Granizo
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
33
Carl-Frederik Bévort
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
34
Pablo Castrillo Zapater
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
35
Samuel Welsford
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
36
Pavel Novák
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
37
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+0:00
38
George Bennett
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
39
Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
40
Markel Beloki Fernandez
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
41
Harm Vanhoucke
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
42
Edward Dunbar
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
43
Manlio Moro
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
44
Damien Howson
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
45
Byron Munton
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
46
Stefan Bissegger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
47
Finn Lachlan Fox Fisher-Black
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
48
Lucas Plapp
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
49
Mattia Gaffuri
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
50
Matthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
51
Stefan de Bod
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
52
Finlay Xavier Pickering
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
53
Luca Vergallito
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
54
Anders Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
55
Edward Theuns
LIDL-TREK+0:00
56
Jan Hirt
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
57
Rainer Kepplinger
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
58
Rudy Porter
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
59
Junior Lecerf
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
60
Felix Gall
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
61
Ben Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
62
Dion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
63
Matteo Milan
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
64
Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
65
Mathijs Paasschens
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
66
Mattia Cattaneo
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
67
Niklas Märkl
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
68
Sean Quinn
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
69
Axel Huens
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
70
Florian Senechal
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
71
James Knox
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
72
Jørgen Nordhagen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
73
Gleb Syritsa
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
74
Steffen de Schuyteneer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
75
Jonas Rickaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
76
Johan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
77
Kevin Vermaerke
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
78
Peter Hansen
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
79
Wilco Kelderman
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
80
Pietro Mattio
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
81
Christopher Harper
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
82
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
83
Robbe Ghys
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
84
Pier-André Côté
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
85
Patrick Gamper
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
86
Nils Politt
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
87
Florian Vermeersch
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
88
Patrick Konrad
LIDL-TREK+0:00
89
Ryan William Mullen
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
90
Nickolas Zukowsky
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
91
David Gaudu
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
92
Matthias Schwarzbacher
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
93
Sean Christian
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
94
Callum Thornley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
95
Ezra Caudell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
96
Hannes Wilksch
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
97
Mark Stewart
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
98
Joshua Michael Tarling
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
99
Emil Herzog
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
100
Baptiste Veistroffer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
101
Lorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
102
Gianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
103
Nadav Raisberg
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
104
Lewis Bower
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
105
Enzo Paleni
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
106
Owain Doull
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
107
Steven Kruijswijk
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
108
Daan Hoole
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
109
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
110
Simon Dehairs
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
111
Bert van Lerberghe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
112
Simone Consonni
LIDL-TREK+0:00
113
Felix Ørn-Kristoff
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
114
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
115
Warre Vangheluwe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
116
Cole Kessler
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
117
Nikias Arndt
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
118
Ayco Bastiaens
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+2:19
119
Albert Torres Barcelo
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
120
Ethan Edward Hayter
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
121
Nicolo' Parisini
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+2:37
122
Rune Herregodts
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+2:37
123
Gianluca Pollefliet
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+2:37
124
Roel van Sintmaartensdijk
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
125
Connor Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
126
Luke Durbridge
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
127
Simone Gualdi
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+2:37
128
Jasper de Buyst
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
129
Maximilian Richard Walscheid
LIDL-TREK+0:00
130
Emmanuel Houcou
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
131
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+0:00
132
Tim Naberman
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
133
Daniel Skerl
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+3:04
134
Silvan Dillier
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+3:04
135
Fabio Jakobsen
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+3:04
136
Erlend Blikra
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
137
Arthur Kluckers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
138
Alastair Mackellar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+3:38
139
Artem Shmidt
INEOS GRENADIERS+3:38
140
Aivaras Mikutis
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
141
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
142
Robin Froidevaux
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
143
Alberto Dainese
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
144
Jonathan Milan
LIDL-TREK+0:00
145
Jarrad Eriks Drizners
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00

With the lead-out trains disrupted, Groupama-FDJ and INEOS Grenadiers pushed to the front. When Axel Huens (Groupama-FDJ) opened a gap, del Toro launched his sprint. He built several bike lengths on the steepest section before Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM) closed hard in the final 30 m, falling a wheel short.

"It was kind of the plan to try and win stage 1, so we had to stay together as a team and we’re happy as a team that we did it," del Toro said. "Honestly I’ve worked on my time trialing but not as much as I need. It’s the dream to still lead the UAE Tour after the time trial."

Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) took third, leaving him 6 s back in the overall standings, collecting 4 bonus seconds of his own. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) finished eighth at 9 s. Evenepoel finished in the main group and did not contest the uphill sprint.

Peloton of professional road cyclists racing along a paved desert road, tightly packed as they pass between large orange sand dunes under clear skies.

Image credit: RCS/ Luca Bettini / SprintCyclingAgency

What it means for the GC

Del Toro will start tomorrow's 12.2 km individual time trial on Al Hudayriat Island with a 10 s lead over Evenepoel on account of time bonuses. He now needs to recover that deficit before gaining any buffer of his own. At the intermediate sprints, Ben Tulett (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Van Eetvelt both picked up bonus seconds.

With two summit finishes still to come on Jebel Mobrah and Jebel Hafeet, the overall standings can still change. The stage was expected to suit sprinters, but del Toro took the win for his home team.

Peter

Peter Stuart

Editor

Peter is the editor of Velora and oversees Velora’s editorial strategy and content standards, bringing nearly 20 years of cycling journalism to the site. He was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022, introducing its digital membership strategy and expanding its content pillars. Before that he was digital editor at Cyclist, and then Rouleur. Before joining Cyclist in 2012, he completed freelance work for titles including The Times and The Telegraph. He has reported from Grand Tours and WorldTour races, and previously represented Great Britain as a rower.