UAE Tour: Jonathan Milan completes sprint hat-trick as Isaac del Toro seals first WorldTour stage race win

UAE Tour: Jonathan Milan completes sprint hat-trick as Isaac del Toro seals first WorldTour stage race win

Milan won Stage 7 at a record-breaking 50.6 km/h average, while Del Toro's UAE Team Emirates-XRG shut down Evenepoel's early aggression to protect a 20-second overall lead into Abu Dhabi.

By Peter Stuart · · 3 min read

Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won the final stage of the 2026 UAE Tour in a bunch sprint at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater, completing a hat-trick of stage victories. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished safely in the peloton to confirm his overall title, 20 seconds ahead of Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), with Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) third at 1:14.

The 149 km stage from the Zayed National Museum averaged 50.6 km/h, the fastest in UAE Tour history, driven by desert winds and aggressive early racing from Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe).

Results

Zayed National Museum - Abu Dhabi Breakwater • Feb 22 • 149km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Jonathan Milan
LIDL-TREK 2:56:48
🥈
Erlend Blikra
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
🥉
Samuel Welsford
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
4
Ethan Kane Vernon
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
5
Matteo Malucelli
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
6
Madis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
7
Gerben Thijssen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
8
Luka Mezgec
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
9
Riley Pickrell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
10
Daniel Skerl
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
11
Matteo Milan
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
12
Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
13
Emmanuel Houcou
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
14
Niklas Märkl
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
15
Steffen de Schuyteneer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
16
Robin Froidevaux
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
17
Fabio Jakobsen
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
18
Gianluca Pollefliet
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
19
Nicolo' Parisini
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
20
Pavel Novák
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
21
Mathys Rondel
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
22
Alberto Dainese
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
23
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
24
Matthias Schwarzbacher
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
25
Pietro Mattio
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
26
Stefan Bissegger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
27
Remco Evenepoel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
28
Antonio Tiberi
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
29
Patrick Gamper
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
30
Carl-Frederik Bévort
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
31
Sebastian Kolze Changizi
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
32
Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
33
Alessandro Romele
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
34
Isaac del Toro Romero
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
35
Lucas Plapp
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
36
David Gaudu
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
37
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
38
Ben Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
39
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
40
Axel Huens
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
41
Rudy Porter
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
42
Tijmen Graat
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
43
Ilan van Wilder
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
44
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
45
Wilco Kelderman
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
46
Steven Kruijswijk
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
47
Lorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
48
Junior Lecerf
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
49
Manlio Moro
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
50
Adam Richard Yates
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
51
Joshua Michael Tarling
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
52
Enzo Paleni
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
53
Ryan William Mullen
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
54
Simone Gualdi
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
55
Finn Lachlan Fox Fisher-Black
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
56
Cees Bol
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
57
Lennert van Eetvelt
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
58
Jørgen Nordhagen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
59
Luca Vergallito
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
60
Gregor Mühlberger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
61
Artem Shmidt
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
62
Ben Tulett
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
63
Pier-André Côté
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
64
Nikias Arndt
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
65
Tobias Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
66
Felix Gall
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
67
Tim Naberman
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
68
Peter Hansen
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
69
Byron Munton
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
70
Lewis Bower
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
71
Bert van Lerberghe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
72
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+0:00
73
Matthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
74
Georg Steinhauser
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
75
Aivaras Mikutis
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
76
Felix Ørn-Kristoff
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
77
Kevin Vermaerke
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
78
Jonas Rickaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
79
Nils Politt
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
80
Stefan de Bod
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
81
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
82
Connor Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
83
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
84
Sean Christian
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
85
Edward Dunbar
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
86
Mattia Gaffuri
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
87
Ben O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
88
Florian Senechal
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
89
Anders Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
90
Ethan Edward Hayter
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
91
Pablo Castrillo Zapater
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
92
Hannes Wilksch
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
93
Owain Doull
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
94
Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
95
Harm Vanhoucke
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
96
Markel Beloki Fernandez
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
97
Silvan Dillier
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
98
George Bennett
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
99
Maximilian Richard Walscheid
LIDL-TREK+0:00
100
Florian Vermeersch
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
101
James Knox
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
102
Jarrad Eriks Drizners
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
103
Damien Howson
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
104
Harold Martin Lopez Granizo
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
105
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
106
Mattia Cattaneo
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
107
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
108
Gianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
109
Rune Herregodts
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
110
Dion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
111
Ayco Bastiaens
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
112
Mark Stewart
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
113
Nickolas Zukowsky
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:28
114
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:28
115
Sean Quinn
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:28
116
Jonas Geens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:28
117
Edward Theuns
LIDL-TREK+0:28
118
Johan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:33
119
Ezra Caudell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:38
120
Arthur Kluckers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:44
121
Lev Gonov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:47
122
Albert Torres Barcelo
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:50
123
Nadav Raisberg
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:50
124
Gleb Syritsa
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:50
125
Baptiste Veistroffer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:50
126
Afonso Eulálio
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:50
127
Emil Herzog
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:50
128
Rainer Kepplinger
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:50
129
Luke Durbridge
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:50
130
Patrick Konrad
LIDL-TREK+0:50
131
Warre Vangheluwe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:50
132
Simone Consonni
LIDL-TREK+0:50
133
Cole Kessler
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:55
134
Mathijs Paasschens
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:57
135
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+0:57
136
Roel van Sintmaartensdijk
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:58
137
Jasper de Buyst
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:12
138
Alastair Mackellar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:38
139
Simon Dehairs
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:51
140
Callum Thornley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+2:28
141
Daan Hoole
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+2:28

Evenepoel, whose GC hopes unravelled on Jebel Mobrah in Stage 3, launched three attacks in the opening kilometres, forcing UAE Team Emirates-XRG into an early chase they would rather have avoided. The former race leader's moves drew out Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana) but never threatened Del Toro's cushion, and a five-man breakaway settled things after 9 km.

Callum Thornley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Daan Hoole (Decathlon-CMA CGM), Ezra Caudell (Modern Adventure), Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) and Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor Pro Cycling) held around a minute for most of the stage. Caudell cramped and dropped inside the final 30 km, and the remaining four were swept up with 2 km to go as Lidl-Trek, Uno-X Mobility and UAE Team Emirates-XRG drove the chase.

UAE Tour 2026 - 8th Edition - 7th stage Zayed National Museum - Abu Dhabi Breakwater 149 km - 22/02/2026 - Jonathan Milan (ITA - Lidl - Trek) - photo Luca Bettini/SprintCyclingAgency©2026

Milan launched a long sprint from roughly 300 m, using Erlend Blikra's (Uno-X Mobility) acceleration as a springboard. Blikra held second, with Samuel Welsford (INEOS Grenadiers) rounding out the podium. Fabio Jakobsen (Picnic PostNL) could only manage 17th.

Milan's week, Del Toro's arrival

Milan's three victories, on the sprint to Fujairah, the technical Dubai finish and Sunday's wind-assisted flat, secured the points classification and his 30th professional win. "It was super fast today due to the wind and the speed of the breakaway," Milan said. "I took a bit of last year's experience to sprint to victory today."

"We've showed that we have one of the best trains. I'm pretty happy for the victory and for how we made it," he added.

Del Toro's overall victory follows a 2025 season with 19 wins. The 22-year-old won Stage 1, reclaimed the Red Jersey with a record-breaking solo attack on Jebel Hafeet, and his team controlled every remaining threat. He also took the young rider classification. He races alongside Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche and the Tour de France.

UAE Tour 2026 takeaways

Headlines have focussed on Evenepoel's falters, and after a supercharged 2026 season start, the Belgian's UAE form suggests he may struggle to be a major challenge to Pogačar.

Isaac del Toro, meanwhile, has confirmed his status as the heir apparent, and a likely alternate option for any Grand Tour challenge where UAE Team Emirates decides not to deploy Pogačar.

Milan's sprint wins have confirmed that the Italian rider is not only one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton, but that Lidl-Trek has a dialed-in leadout. He'll be the clear favourite for the Giro d'Italia sprinter's jersey, while Lidl-Trek's leadout form bodes well for Mads Pedersen's Tour de France sprint campaign.

Image credits: RCS / Luca Bettini / SprintCyclingAgengy

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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 having joined Cyclist in 2012 after 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.