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“My Air Conditioning Wasn’t Working”: Remco Evenepoel Explains UAE Tour Setback

May 19, 2026
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Remco Evenepoel blamed a rough night’s sleep caused by a broken air conditioner for his sudden collapse on the UAE Tour’s mountain stage, explaining that heat, fatigue, and pacing left him unable to match the attacks.

​One day after losing the overall lead at the UAE Tour, Remco Evenepoel gave a simple explanation for what went wrong on the mountain stage.

Remco Evenepoel (Credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

​Speaking to Sporza before Stage 4, Evenepoel said he did not sleep well the night before the race.

“The air conditioning in my room wasn’t working. It was very warm,” he said. “But that’s fixed now. I slept better and recovered better.”

​Stage 3 started well for Evenepoel.

​He was leading the race after winning the time trial. But on the steep climb of Jebel Mobrah, things changed quickly.

​When other riders attacked, he could not follow. He lost 1 minute and 44 seconds and dropped from first place to 11th in the overall standings.

​Italy’s Antonio Tiberi won the stage and took the red jersey. Isaac Del Toro also moved up in the general classification.

​Evenepoel was honest about his performance.

​“I was dropped,” he said. He explained that his legs did not feel fresh and that he may have started the climb too fast. He also mentioned the hard effort from the time trial earlier in the week.

​Despite the setback, Evenepoel stayed calm and said there is no need to panic.

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