DISCUSSION | Stage 2 UAE Tour 2026 - Supersonic Remco, diesel-powered Del Toro, Cavagna emerges

After Isaac del Toro won the opening stage of the 2026 UAE Tour, today was all about the race against the clock. And who better than Remco Evenepoel to lay down a statement in only the second WorldTour event of the season.

If there were any doubts, the Belgian rider from Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe made sure to erase them. He delivered a commanding performance to take the stage, with Joshua Tarling of INEOS Grenadiers finishing closest, just five seconds behind, while Rémi Cavagna of Groupama – FDJ United followed at eleven seconds. They were the only riders able to come remotely close to the reigning world champion of the discipline.

As for the general classification contenders, their ambitions after this ITT may now be limited to fighting for a place on the podium. Race leader Isaac del Toro took a heavy blow, conceding 41 seconds over the 12-kilometre course and dropping to 32 seconds behind the overall lead.

Antonio Tiberi also suffered, though he still performed better than the UAE rider. He lost 33 seconds to the stage winner and now sits 30 seconds behind Evenepoel in the battle for the yellow jersey.

Ilan Van Wilder and Derek Gee were likewise faster than Del Toro and now trail Evenepoel by 35 and 34 seconds respectively.

Several other general classification hopefuls lost significant time as well. Felix Gall is now 57 seconds down, Lennert Van Eetvelt sits at 1:02, Adam Yates has conceded 1:04, Tobias Johannessen is at 1:12, Damiano Caruso at 1:13, and Nairo Quintana has lost a full 1:30 to Evenepoel.

Pretty decent time trial, the gaps were bigger than I expected. Maybe 20 seconds between Evenepoel and Del Toro is what I saw coming but instead we had a perfect Evenepoel and a poor Del Toro who also lost some seconds to other rivals.

Not the best indicator of form in a longer effort, however going uphill is going to be a different battle. Good surprise from Cavagna in third, first time in a long while he showed his best TT legs, the rest was around where you'd expect.

Whilst not decisive, due to Jebel Mobrah's presence, the 32-second gap Evenepoel has over Del Toro does allow him to race more conservatively whilst so far, there aren't reasons to worry about others - this can change though.

If he gets out of tomorrow's stage without losing any meaningful time to anyone then it will be near impossible to take the overall win from him.

The ITT put everyone in their place. Remco Evenepoel stamped his authority and showed that while some specialists can get close to his times, no one can beat him in the time trial. Isaac del Toro proved that even in a short individual effort he cannot keep Remco under control. Joshua Tarling delivered a superb time trial, setting the second-fastest time of the day.

And what about the resurgence of Rémi Cavagna? The Frenchman looked back to his very best, rediscovering the aura he once had when he was a marked man. Could we see this version of Cavagna throughout the season? If so, he will certainly bring plenty of joy to his team, and he fully deserves it after such a long spell in the wilderness.

Returning to the outcome of the race, tomorrow brings an important stage, and with the time gained today, Evenepoel may be able to change his approach and race more defensively. Yes, I say that because I don’t see anyone else in this race capable of challenging him for the overall victory. The move now belongs to UAE and Del Toro.