In the seven times the UAE Tour has been run up to now, the home team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, has managed to win three of them. All three were taken by their big star and cycling’s number one rider, Tadej Pogačar, but without him, their GC results read: ninth in 2019, third in 2023 and 15th in 2024, with the world champion losing the 2020 race to now teammate Adam Yates.
But this Sunday, barring any bizarre incident, Isaac del Toro will take over the responsibility of winning what is an important race for the UAE team, after he produced a crushing performance on stage 6 of the 2026 edition to win on Jebel Hafeet and wrest back control of the red jersey from Antonio Tiberi.
Del Toro has often been compared to Pogačar, perhaps due to his style on the bike, but also his versatility, as someone able to win stage races – this was his first at WorldTour-level – but also one-day races, with heaps of climbing talent and punchy power at his disposal.
As Del Toro continued to rock his bike and forth and attack out of the saddle with vigour, which Tiberi left grimacing as he tried to follow, it felt like one of Pogačar’s moves where the poor soul left trying to match him is certainly going to get too close to the sun and burn.
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