UAE Tour: Remco Evenepoel blitzes Al Hudayriyat time trial at 56.1 km/h to seize overall lead

UAE Tour: Remco Evenepoel blitzes Al Hudayriyat time trial at 56.1 km/h to seize overall lead

The Belgian's 13:03 ride on a 68-tooth chainring gives him 32 second over Isaac del Toro ahead of tomorrow's new summit finish on Jebel Mobrah, where gradients hit 20%.

By Peter Stuart · · 3 min read

Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) won the 12.2 km Stage 2 time trial at the UAE Tour on Al Hudayriyat Island, averaging 56.1 km/h to take the overall lead ahead of the race's mountain stages.

Evenepoel covered the flat, non-technical coastal course in 13:03, beating Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) by six seconds and Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ) by 12s. Further down the stage classification: Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who won Stage 1 and held the red jersey overnight, lost 42s and dropped to 10th overall at 32s.

The gaps to Evenepoel's main GC rivals are already substantial. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) limited the damage to 30s, the best performance among the pure climbers. Defending champion Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) conceded 1:02, while Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) lost 1:04. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) finished 56s back. For those four riders, they need to take a minute or more across two summit finishes.

Results

Al Hudayriyat Island • Feb 17 • 12.2km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Remco Evenepoel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE 0:13:03
🥈
Joshua Michael Tarling
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:05
🥉
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:11
4
Ethan Edward Hayter
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:24
5
Daan Hoole
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:25
6
Lucas Plapp
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:25
7
Artem Shmidt
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:28
8
Florian Vermeersch
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:29
9
Stefan Bissegger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:30
10
Rune Herregodts
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:32
11
Peter Hansen
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:33
12
Ilan van Wilder
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:33
13
Antonio Tiberi
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:33
14
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+0:34
15
Pablo Castrillo Zapater
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:34
16
Wilco Kelderman
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:35
17
Finn Lachlan Fox Fisher-Black
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:35
18
Maximilian Richard Walscheid
LIDL-TREK+0:35
19
Arthur Kluckers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:36
20
Lev Gonov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:37
21
Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:38
22
Stefan de Bod
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:39
23
Connor Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:40
24
Mattia Cattaneo
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:40
25
Isaac del Toro Romero
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:41
26
Ben O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:41
27
Callum Thornley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:41
28
Luke Durbridge
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:41
29
Jørgen Nordhagen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:42
30
Byron Munton
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:44
31
Baptiste Veistroffer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:45
32
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:46
33
Markel Beloki Fernandez
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:48
34
Aivaras Mikutis
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:48
35
Samuel Welsford
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:49
36
Steffen de Schuyteneer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:49
37
Jonathan Milan
LIDL-TREK+0:49
38
Georg Steinhauser
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:49
39
Lorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:50
40
Gregor Mühlberger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:51
41
Damien Howson
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:52
42
Alastair Mackellar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:52
43
Ben Tulett
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:54
44
Carl-Frederik Bévort
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:55
45
David Gaudu
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:55
46
Nickolas Zukowsky
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:56
47
Cees Bol
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:56
48
Felix Gall
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:56
49
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:58
50
Mathys Rondel
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:58
51
Pier-André Côté
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:59
52
Christopher Harper
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:59
53
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+1:00
54
Luca Vergallito
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:01
55
Owain Doull
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:01
56
Ben Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+1:02
57
Patrick Gamper
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:02
58
Lennert van Eetvelt
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:02
59
Manlio Moro
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:02
60
Enzo Paleni
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:03
61
Robbe Ghys
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+1:03
62
Adam Richard Yates
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:03
63
Tijmen Graat
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:04
64
Nils Politt
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:04
65
Gleb Syritsa
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:04
66
Ryan William Mullen
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:04
67
Johan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:06
68
Felix Ørn-Kristoff
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:07
69
Mattia Gaffuri
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:07
70
Gianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+1:07
71
Simone Gualdi
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:07
72
Junior Lecerf
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:08
73
Harm Vanhoucke
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:09
74
Alessandro Romele
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:09
75
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:09
76
Edward Dunbar
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:10
77
Tobias Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+1:11
78
Edward Theuns
LIDL-TREK+1:11
79
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+1:12
80
Axel Huens
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:12
81
Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:13
82
Anders Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+1:13
83
Sean Quinn
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:14
84
Ethan Kane Vernon
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:14
85
Dion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:15
86
Matthias Schwarzbacher
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:16
87
Rainer Kepplinger
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+1:16
88
Cole Kessler
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+1:17
89
Matthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:17
90
Kevin Vermaerke
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:17
91
Patrick Konrad
LIDL-TREK+1:18
92
James Knox
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:19
93
Lewis Bower
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:20
94
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+1:20
95
Harold Martin Lopez Granizo
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:21
96
Jasper de Buyst
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:22
97
Roel van Sintmaartensdijk
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:22
98
Luka Mezgec
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:22
99
Steven Kruijswijk
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:22
100
Simone Consonni
LIDL-TREK+1:23
101
Jonas Geens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:24
102
Finlay Xavier Pickering
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:24
103
Emmanuel Houcou
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:24
104
Tim Naberman
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:24
105
Ezra Caudell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+1:26
106
Jonas Rickaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:26
107
Madis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:27
108
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:27
109
Mark Stewart
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+1:28
110
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:29
111
Albert Torres Barcelo
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:30
112
Warre Vangheluwe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:30
113
Bert van Lerberghe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:30
114
Rudy Porter
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:30
115
Pietro Mattio
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:31
116
Nadav Raisberg
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:31
117
Pavel Novák
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:32
118
Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:33
119
Jan Hirt
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:33
120
Gianluca Pollefliet
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+1:34
121
Matteo Milan
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:35
122
Afonso Eulálio
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+1:35
123
Mathijs Paasschens
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+1:35
124
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+1:35
125
Florian Senechal
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:37
126
Niklas Märkl
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:39
127
George Bennett
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:40
128
Alberto Dainese
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:41
129
Ayco Bastiaens
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:42
130
Nicolo' Parisini
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:43
131
Hannes Wilksch
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:47
132
Jarrad Eriks Drizners
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+1:49
133
Sean Christian
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+1:51
134
Silvan Dillier
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:52
135
Gerben Thijssen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:59
136
Simon Dehairs
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+2:03
137
Matteo Malucelli
XDS ASTANA TEAM+2:09
138
Sebastian Kolze Changizi
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+2:11
139
Robin Froidevaux
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+2:12
140
Erlend Blikra
UNO-X MOBILITY+2:13
141
Nikias Arndt
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+2:23
142
Daniel Skerl
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+2:35
143
Fabio Jakobsen
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+2:38
144
Riley Pickrell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+2:48
145
Emil Herzog
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+2:54

Wind, timing, 68 teeth

Evenepoel and his team identified a window of lighter winds early in the session and started him as the fifth rider off the ramp. The benchmark he set stood for two hours as conditions worsened.

UAE Tour 2026 - 8th Edition - 2nd stage Hudayriyat Island - Hudayriyat Island 12,2 km - 17/02/2026 - Joshua Tarling (GBR - INEOS Grenadiers) - photo Luca Bettini/SprintCyclingAgency©2026

Image credit: RCS/ Sprint Cycling Agency

"The course was pretty flat and not very technical so it was perfect for being quick." Evenepoel said. "It's more comfortable to defend the lead than have to attack. So this is the perfect situation for us."

His equipment choice: a 68-tooth single chainring, oversized even by TT standards, allowing him to maintain higher speeds at a comfortable cadence on the flat roads. It is a setup that only works on a course with no meaningful gradient changes, and Al Hudayriyat offered exactly that.

Despite Del Toro losing the jersey, UAE Team Emirates-XRG still hold two cards for the mountains, with Yates available as a secondary threat on the longer, more consistent gradients of Jebel Hafeet on Stage 6.

Tiberi lost 32s, the best among the climbers. The Italian sits 8th overall, within range if he can match or beat Evenepoel on the steep ramps. Van Eetvelt, whose explosive acceleration won him the 2024 edition, sits over a minute down.

Stage 3 brings the first-ever summit finish on Jebel Mobrah, a 15 km climb where the final six kilometres average 12% with ramps touching 20%. Evenepoel leads del Toro by 32s. The 15 km climb averages 12% over the final six kilometres, with ramps touching 20%.

Cover image credit: RCS/ Sprint Cycling Agency

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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.