Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) attacked with -4 km on the inaugural Jebel Mobrah summit finish to win Stage 3 solo and seize the Red Jersey. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), the race leader after his Stage 2 time trial win, conceded 2:04 and dropped to 11th overall.
Credit: RCS Sport/ SprintCyclingAgency
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished 15 s behind Tiberi after a late recovery ride in the final 2 km, moving to second on GC at 0:21. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) took third on the stage at 0:29. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) sits third overall at 1:00, with Van Eetvelt fourth at 1:07. Evenepoel is now 1:44 off red.
Stage 3 Results
Umm Al Quwain - Jebel Mobrah • Feb 18 • 183km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Antonio TIBERI | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 4:24:44 |
| 🥈 | Isaac DEL TORO ROMERO | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +0:15 |
| 🥉 | Lennert VAN EETVELT | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +0:29 |
| 4 | Harold Alfonso TEJADA CANACUE | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +0:41 |
| 5 | Felix GALL | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +0:51 |
| 6 | Tobias Halland JOHANNESSEN | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +0:51 |
| 7 | Derek GEE | LTKLIDL-TREK | +1:07 |
| 8 | Jørgen NORDHAGEN | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +1:07 |
| 9 | Ilan VAN WILDER | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +1:07 |
| 10 | Lucas PLAPP | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +1:13 |
| 11 | Mathys RONDEL | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +1:18 |
| 12 | Michael STORER | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +1:35 |
| 13 | Adam Richard YATES | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +1:38 |
| 14 | Byron MUNTON | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +1:40 |
| 15 | Wilco KELDERMAN | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +1:49 |
| 16 | Anders Halland JOHANNESSEN | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +1:56 |
| 17 | Tijmen GRAAT | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +2:00 |
| 18 | Remco EVENEPOEL | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +2:04 |
| 19 | Harm VANHOUCKE | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +2:14 |
| 20 | Embret SVESTAD-BÅRDSENG | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +2:41 |
| 21 | David GAUDU | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +2:43 |
| 22 | Jardi Christiaan VAN DER LEE | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +2:43 |
| 23 | Edward DUNBAR | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +2:50 |
| 24 | Kevin VERMAERKE | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +2:56 |
| 25 | George BENNETT | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +2:56 |
| 26 | Markel BELOKI FERNANDEZ | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +3:01 |
| 27 | Christopher HARPER | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +3:04 |
| 28 | Georg STEINHAUSER | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +3:06 |
| 29 | Afonso EULÁLIO | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +3:06 |
| 30 | Pablo CASTRILLO ZAPATER | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +3:06 |
| 31 | Pavel NOVÁK | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +3:12 |
| 32 | Mattia GAFFURI | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +3:17 |
| 33 | Junior LECERF | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +3:23 |
| 34 | Luca VERGALLITO | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +3:23 |
| 35 | Emil HERZOG | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +3:23 |
| 36 | Amanuel GHEBREIGZABHIER | LTKLIDL-TREK | +3:35 |
| 37 | Sean QUINN | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +3:43 |
| 38 | Rudy PORTER | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +3:45 |
| 39 | Peter HANSEN | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +3:59 |
| 40 | Ben TULETT | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +4:06 |
| 41 | Nairo Alexander QUINTANA ROJAS | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +4:25 |
| 42 | Finlay Xavier PICKERING | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +4:25 |
| 43 | Anthon CHARMIG | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +5:02 |
| 44 | Ben O'CONNOR | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +5:20 |
| 45 | Stefan DE BOD | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +5:41 |
| 46 | Sergio Andres HIGUITA GARCIA | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +5:41 |
| 47 | James KNOX | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +6:31 |
| 48 | Jan HIRT | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +6:31 |
| 49 | Harold Martin LOPEZ GRANIZO | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +6:42 |
| 50 | Damiano CARUSO | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +6:42 |
| 51 | Patrick KONRAD | LTKLIDL-TREK | +7:24 |
| 52 | Steven KRUIJSWIJK | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +7:53 |
| 53 | Alastair MACKELLAR | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +7:53 |
| 54 | Simone GUALDI | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +7:53 |
| 55 | Nickolas ZUKOWSKY | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +8:05 |
| 56 | Enzo PALENI | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +8:17 |
| 57 | Matthew DINHAM | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +8:17 |
| 58 | Damien HOWSON | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +8:22 |
| 59 | Hannes WILKSCH | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +9:51 |
| 60 | Anders SKAARSETH | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +11:04 |
| 61 | Finn Lachlan Fox FISHER-BLACK | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +11:07 |
| 62 | Lorenzo MILESI | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +12:50 |
| 63 | Rémi CAVAGNA | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +12:50 |
| 64 | Pier-André CÔTÉ | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +12:50 |
| 65 | Patrick GAMPER | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +13:02 |
| 66 | Warre VANGHELUWE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +13:02 |
| 67 | Nils POLITT | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +13:05 |
| 68 | Florian VERMEERSCH | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +13:05 |
| 69 | Connor SWIFT | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +13:15 |
| 70 | Joshua Michael TARLING | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +13:15 |
| 71 | Dion Allan SMITH | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +13:15 |
| 72 | Luke DURBRIDGE | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +13:15 |
| 73 | Rainer KEPPLINGER | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +13:15 |
| 74 | Baptiste VEISTROFFER | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +13:52 |
| 75 | Niklas MÄRKL | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +14:24 |
| 76 | Gregor MÜHLBERGER | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +14:24 |
| 77 | Artem SHMIDT | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +14:26 |
| 78 | Lev GONOV | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +14:26 |
| 79 | Nicolo' PARISINI | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +14:26 |
| 80 | Edward THEUNS | LTKLIDL-TREK | +14:38 |
| 81 | Daan HOOLE | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +14:38 |
| 82 | Nadav RAISBERG | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +14:38 |
| 83 | Tim NABERMAN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +14:38 |
| 84 | Jonas GEENS | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +14:38 |
| 85 | Nikias ARNDT | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +14:38 |
| 86 | Ben SWIFT | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +14:38 |
| 87 | Madis MIHKELS | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +14:38 |
| 88 | Ayco BASTIAENS | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +14:38 |
| 89 | Axel HUENS | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +14:38 |
| 90 | Mathijs PAASSCHENS | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +14:38 |
| 91 | Arthur KLUCKERS | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +15:30 |
| 92 | Aivaras MIKUTIS | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +15:55 |
| 93 | Rune HERREGODTS | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +15:55 |
| 94 | Roel VAN SINTMAARTENSDIJK | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +16:12 |
| 95 | Jonathan MILAN | LTKLIDL-TREK | +16:12 |
| 96 | Florian SENECHAL | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +16:12 |
| 97 | Casper Cornelis VAN UDEN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +16:30 |
| 98 | Johan JACOBS | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +16:58 |
| 99 | Mattia CATTANEO | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +17:31 |
| 100 | Gianni MOSCON | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +17:31 |
| 101 | Alberto DAINESE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +17:43 |
| 102 | Ryan William MULLEN | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +17:56 |
| 103 | Owain DOULL | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +17:56 |
| 104 | Pietro MATTIO | TVLTEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +18:15 |
| 105 | Emmanuel HOUCOU | PINPINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | +18:15 |
| 106 | Felix ØRN-KRISTOFF | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +18:15 |
| 107 | Callum THORNLEY | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +18:19 |
| 108 | Manlio MORO | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +18:23 |
| 109 | Juan Sebastian MOLANO BENAVIDES | UADUAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | +18:23 |
| 110 | Sean CHRISTIAN | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +19:23 |
| 111 | Bert VAN LERBERGHE | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +19:44 |
| 112 | Ethan Edward HAYTER | SOUSOUDAL QUICK-STEP | +19:44 |
| 113 | Riley PICKRELL | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +20:30 |
| 114 | Samuel WELSFORD | IGDINEOS GRENADIERS | +20:30 |
| 115 | Matthias SCHWARZBACHER | EFEEF EDUCATION - EASYPOST | +20:30 |
| 116 | Ezra CAUDELL | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +20:30 |
| 117 | Cole KESSLER | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +20:30 |
| 118 | Gerben THIJSSEN | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +20:30 |
| 119 | Lewis BOWER | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +20:36 |
| 120 | Carl-Frederik BÉVORT | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +20:37 |
| 121 | Gleb SYRITSA | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +20:55 |
| 122 | Sebastian KOLZE CHANGIZI | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +21:48 |
| 123 | Albert TORRES BARCELO | MOVMOVISTAR TEAM | +22:20 |
| 124 | Steffen DE SCHUYTENEER | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +22:27 |
| 125 | Ethan Kane VERNON | NSNNSN CYCLING TEAM | +22:36 |
| 126 | Silvan DILLIER | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +22:44 |
| 127 | Jonas RICKAERT | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +23:07 |
| 128 | Simon DEHAIRS | APTALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | +23:34 |
| 129 | Luka MEZGEC | JAYTEAM JAYCO ALULA | +23:34 |
| 130 | Fabio JAKOBSEN | TPPTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +23:52 |
| 131 | Maximilian Richard WALSCHEID | LTKLIDL-TREK | +24:41 |
| 132 | Matteo MILAN | GFCGROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | +25:15 |
| 133 | Daniel SKERL | TBVBAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | +25:15 |
| 134 | Alessandro ROMELE | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +25:15 |
| 135 | Matteo MALUCELLI | XATXDS ASTANA TEAM | +25:15 |
| 136 | Stefan BISSEGGER | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +25:15 |
| 137 | Gianluca POLLEFLIET | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +25:15 |
| 138 | Cees BOL | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +25:15 |
| 139 | Simone CONSONNI | LTKLIDL-TREK | +25:15 |
| 140 | Robin FROIDEVAUX | TUDTUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | +25:15 |
| 141 | Robbe GHYS | DCTDECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | +25:15 |
| 142 | Mark STEWART | MODMODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING | +25:15 |
| 143 | Jasper DE BUYST | LOILOTTO INTERMARCHÉ | +25:15 |
| 144 | Erlend BLIKRA | UXMUNO-X MOBILITY | +25:15 |
| 145 | Jarrad Eriks DRIZNERS | RBHRED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | +25:15 |
The 183 km stage played out to script until the peloton hit Jebel Mobrah's 15 km ascent. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) lit the fuse with -6 km to go on gradients averaging 12%.
Evenepoel followed initially, then abruptly swung off the pace at -4 km, visibly slapping his right thigh. Tiberi countered Gall's move at the same point and rode clear on the double-digit ramps. Del Toro, who had drifted to the back of the favourites' group early on the climb, was paced back into contention by teammate Adam Yates before launching his own pursuit in the final 2 km, passing Gall but unable to close the gap to Tiberi.
Evenepoel's explanation, and what changes
"At the foot of the climb, I already had cramps coming on," Evenepoel said to Het Nieuwsblad. "Maybe from yesterday's effort, which I hadn't fully digested. I didn't have the best night either; I woke up from the heat. But ultimately, I can't make excuses."
Tiberi, claiming his first victory since 2024, read the situation in real time. "Today’s win gives me confirmation that I’ve had a good winter, without any hiccups like last year with sickness and a stupid crash during the training camp," he said. "I wanted to see in a serious climb like today’s what the good level I had reached could bring me. I knew I could do well, but to leave people like Isaac Del Toro and Remco Evenepoel behind, it’s big!"
The organisers' new summit finish produced gaps far larger than Jebel Hafeet typically generates. That climb returns on Stage 6, the last realistic GC battleground, but Tiberi now holds a buffer that leaves UAE Team Emirates-XRG with Del Toro and Yates, who sits 16th at 2:22. The exposed desert stages on days four and five carry crosswind risk that could affect the standings before the race reaches Hafeet.
Cover image credit: RCS/ Luca Bettini / SprintCyclingAgency
