UAE Tour 2026: Hat trick! Milan dominates on stage 7, Del Toro celebrates overall victory
Thomas Huber
· 22.02.2026
Third bunch sprint at the UAE Tour 2026 - third stage win for Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek). With his success in the final 7th stage, Milan rounded off a perfect week for himself and his team. The 25-year-old bravely opened the sprint on the streets of Abu Dhabi in second position behind a Uno-X rider, while Sam Welsford (INEOS Grenadiers) attacked almost simultaneously from a little further back. Although the INEOS rider had the inside track on the final slight left-hand bend, in the end he lacked the final power to get past the outstanding Milan. Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility), who had latched onto Milan's rear wheel early on, was also unable to mount a decisive attack out of the Italian's slipstream. In the last few metres, the day's winner was even able to pull away once more and was thus able to celebrate the day's victory before the finish line. Milan pushed Blikra and Welsford into second and third place. Once again, Milan can also thank his riders around the German Max Walscheid, who helped the day's winner to a good starting position.
I learnt a lot from my duels with Tim Merlier last year. Once again, it was a fast and difficult race. Thanks to my team for their efforts to control the breakaways. We showed that we are one of the best sprint trains.
Del Toro also sets an exclamation mark alongside Milan
It's not just Jonathan Milan who stands out at the 2026 UAE Tour, overall winner Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) is also attracting a lot of attention. He not only won the uphill sprint on stage 1, but also rolled up the field from the back on stage 3 and only just missed out on the stage win at the uphill finish. He then did just that on the queen stage on day 6: a convincing stage win on Jebel Hafeet, which is synonymous with overall victory in the UAE Tour 2026. He then crossed the finish line on the final 7th stage ahead of Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain - Victorious). Del Toro also distanced big names such as Felix Gall (Decathlonn CMA CGM Team) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) in the battle for the overall classification.
UAE Tour 2026 - Results of the 7th stage
Stage 7: Zayed National Museum - Abu Dhabi Breakwater
UAE Tour 2026: Stage 7, Zayed National Museum - Abu Dhabi Breakwater
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lidl - Trek | 02:56:48 |
| 2 | Uno-X Mobility | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | INEOS Grenadiers | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | NSN Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | EF Education - EasyPost | +00:00:00 |
How the 7th stage of the UAE Tour 2026 went
On the 149-kilometre flat stage from the Zayed National Museum to Abu Dhabi Breakwater, it was clear to the sprinter teams in advance that there would be a sprint royale in the capital of the Emirates. Five riders wanted to put a spanner in the works. After around 30 kilometres of racing, Callum Thornley (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), Daan Hoole (Decathlonn CMA CGM Team), Ezra Caudell (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling), Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar Team) and Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) broke away from the peloton and sought to escape to the front.
It wasn't just sprinters who were responsible for the chase. The team of overall leader Isaac Del Toro, UAE Team Emirates - XRG, was also involved. Together with Lidl - Trek and Uno-X Mobility, among others, they ensured that the gap to the leading group was barely more than a minute. The breakaways were therefore kept on a short leash, as the sprinter teams wanted to play it safe in terms of a bunch sprint.
Breakaway group puts up a good fight - Milan wins
With 16 kilometres to go, Ezra Caudell dropped out of the group, which put up a brave fight against the peloton. The remaining quartet was only swallowed up by the sprint trains around two kilometres before the finish.
The bunch sprint was once again won by Jonathan Milan, who relegated Erlend Blikra and Sam Welsford to second place. The best German on the day was Niklas Märkl (Team Picnic PostNL), who finished 14th. Milan celebrated his third stage win in four days.
How the UAE Tour 2026 went - summary
UAE Tour 2026 - Stage 1: Del Toro with a respectable win
The UAE Tour 2026 got off to a stormy start: Stage 1 had to be shortened due to strong desert winds. On the flat stage with an uphill sprint, only one rider dared to break away: Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Premier Tech) rode many kilometres alone in the wind. It was not to be the only day that the Swiss rider broke away. His self-sacrificing fight was not crowned with success in the end - the stage resulted in a bunch sprint. One of the top sprinters, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), was unable to take part in this sprint, falling a few kilometres before the finish. On the home straight, the young Mexican Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) launched an attack at just the right moment. With his long attack, he broke away from the competition and narrowly celebrated the day's victory ahead of Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain - Victorious).
Stage 2: Remco Evenepoel takes the overall lead
The second stage of the UAE Tour 2026 featured a flat, 12.2-kilometre individual time trial. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) was the fastest rider on the technically difficult course, finishing six seconds faster than Johua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers). Third place went to Rémy Cavagna (Groupama - FDJ United). The Belgian's success on the day was synonymous with the overall lead, as Isaac Del Toro did not finish higher than 25th on stage 2.
UAE Tour 2026 - Stage 3: The duel for overall victory is about to begin
For the classification riders, the 3rd stage was the first real ridge marker: the mountain arrival on Jebel Mobrah was a tough one with over 13 kilometres and an average gradient of 8% and was to end the hopes of one or two riders for overall victory.
Together with team-mate Jonas Rickaert, Silvan Dillier once again collected points in the intermediate sprint classification. The duo formed the breakaway group of the day, which came into the final climb in the lead but was swallowed up there. The previous day's winner Remco Evenepoel was the first of the group of favourites to have problems on the climb, dropping back significantly and thus having to say goodbye to the battle for the overall classification.
Isaac Del Toro fared differently. Although the Mexican also fell behind early on the climb, he then rolled up the field from behind. Little by little, he easily overtook the competition. He was only beaten by one rider: Antonio Tiberi. The Bahrain captain came out 4 kilometres before the finish and launched his decisive attack in the battle for the day's victory. Del Toro was also unable to catch up with the Italian. Tiberi thus took the lead in the overall classification, with Del Toro 20 seconds behind him.
Stage 4: The Milan Festival begins
It was the first stage of the UAE Tour 2026, where the classic sprinters had a chance of winning for the first time. However, due to the hilly sections, breakaways wanted to put a spanner in the works. A strong breakaway group formed, in which the German Georg Steinhauser (EF Education - EasyPost), among others, tried his luck. The group was only swallowed up by the onrushing peloton on the home straight. The bunch sprint was won by Jonathan Milan, who came out on top after an outstanding attack ahead of Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) and his younger brother Matteo Milan (Groupama - FDJ United). The Milan family therefore had two reasons to celebrate on this day.
Stage 5: Milan's second coup
Stage 5 was a classic flat stage with a pre-programmed sprint finish. Silvan Dillier was once again in the breakaway group, Jonathan Milan once again the winner. He prevailed in the sprint from Erlend Blikra and Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana Team). The back-to-back victory was not to be the Italian's last.
UAE Tour 2026 - Stage 6: Del Toro crowns himself at Jebel Hafeet
The queen stage of the UAE Tour 2026 was traditionally the mountain arrival of Jebel Hafeet. This day was to decide the duel in the overall standings between Tiberi and Del Toro.
At the start of the race, a large breakaway group formed around Joshua Tarling and Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), but this was not to play a role in the finale. Instead, Remco Evenepoel tried to break away after a disappointing stage 3. He attacked early on the climb, but then had to let numerous rivals go as the stage progressed. In the end, he had to settle for 15th place.
From the group of favourites, it was Del Toro who attacked with 4 kilometres to go and only Antonio Tiberi was able to follow. It was clear at this point - now the direct duel for the overall classification would be decided. A short time later, Del Toro launched another attack to which Tiberi was unable to respond. There was a gap between the two riders, which the Mexican continued to widen, while Tiberi was beaten. Del Toro was not only crowned the day's winner at the finish, but was also on the verge of overall victory: Tiberi broke away in the final kilometres, was overtaken by Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and had to surrender his lead in the overall standings to high-flyer Del Toro.
