Mexican distances Tiberi to build 20” advantage into last stage
Saturday 21 February, 2026
Del Toro blows the doors off on Jebel Hafeet as he reclaims UAE Tour lead
Mexican distances Tiberi to build 20” advantage into last stage
Isaac Del Toro delivered one of the defining performances of the 2026 season today, riding to a powerful solo victory on Stage 6 of the UAE Tour atop Jebel Hafeet to take the stage win and the overall race lead for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The 10.8 km summit finish, featuring brutal gradients averaging around 6.6 % on the iconic climb, proved decisive as Del Toro made his final attack with approximately 2.5 km to go, distancing previous leader Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) and shrinking the gap to all of his rivals en route to the top. His constant accelerations proved too much for Tiberi, leaving the Italian behind and carrying him clear to the line – a gesture of strength that also reshuffled the general classification standings.
Isaac Del Toro: “It was a mental game and I had to keep trying and believe I could win. Today we had the mentality that we could do it. At 2.5km to go I gave it everything and then it was a matter of holding it. Today is one of the best victories of my career. When you win with a team performance like this it’s something amazing and I want to thank each one of my teammates. We still have one day left to defend the lead and we will fight for every kilometre to do that here in our home race.”
Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) chased hard to finish second on the day, with Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) taking third. Del Toro’s margin over his nearest contender now sits at 20 seconds as he heads into tomorrow’s final stage in Abu Dhabi wearing the red leader’s jersey.
Stage 6 results
1.Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:27:54
2.Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) +12”
3.Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) +21”
GC after stage 6
1.Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 18:13:42
2.Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +20”
3.Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) +1’14”
