Preview UAE Tour 2026 stage 7 - Is anyone capable of taking down Jonathan Milan in the final sprint?

From the 16th to the 22nd of February, the peloton will be in the Middle East for what is the second World Tour stage-race of the season: the UAE Tour. The race, characterized by its flat stages and hot weather, will once again host some of the world's very best. We preview stage 7, which is expected to start and finish at 10:15 and 13:00CET.

The race was only created in 2019, off the back of the success of other events such as the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. The region, host to large financial capacity, hot weather in February, and its World Tour status, has managed to attract big figures on a yearly basis. Its first edition, in 2019, immediately saw Primoz Roglic take the overall win ahead of then World Champion Alejandro Valverde.

With the growth of UAE Team Emirates - XRG, the nation's own team, the importance it gained grew even bigger. Adam Yates won the race in 2020, and that gave way to then Pogacar's two consecutive victories ahead of the Briton in 2021 and 2022. Then World Champion Remco Evenepoel soared to victory in 2023; his compatriot Lennert van Eetvelt won in 2024; whilst in 2025 it was World Champion Tadej Pogacar who took a dominant victory, winning both traditional finished into Jebej Jais and Jebel Hafeet.

The race will end in Abu Dhabi, with another pan-flat stage which is certain to end in a bunch sprint. It's not a stage where the wind is expected to have a role, instead a calm 149 kilometers on the bike will take the riders towards the final sprint of the race, with another straight line finale in store.

*** Jonathan Milan
** Ethan Vernon, Matteo Malucelli
* Juan Sebastián Molano, Erlend Blikra, Alberto Dainese, Casper van Uden, Gerben Thijssen, Cees Bool, Sam Welsford, Matteo Milan

Pick: Jonathan Milan

How: Regular bunch sprint.