Remco Evenepoel’s flying 2026 start hit a hard reality check at the UAE Tour, losing 2:04 on stage 3’s first mountain test to Jebel Mobrah.
Remco Evenepoel’s early-season momentum took a hit on stage 3 of the UAE Tour, where the Belgian lost 2:04 on the race’s first mountain test to Jebel Mobrah.
Riding for Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe, Evenepoel had opened 2026 in dominant fashion, collecting five wins from eight race days in Spain. But on the near-15km climb in the Emirates, without altitude training in his legs, he was dropped and unable to match the pace of the GC contenders. Italy’s Antonio Tiberi delivered the standout performance of the day, pacing his effort to secure victory and underline his own credentials.
The Belgian downplayed the setback, and his team resisted framing it as a crisis. Still, the time loss represents a missed opportunity to lay down an early marker in his Tour de France build-up.
Evenepoel is expected to head to altitude on Mount Teide before lining up at the Volta a Catalunya, where a stacked GC field awaits. With the sport’s benchmark, Tadej Pogačar, setting relentless standards, the pressure to respond is clear.
Remco Evenepoel has built his reputation on emphatic responses, from world titles to Olympic gold, and the coming weeks will test whether this defeat becomes a footnote or a forecast.
February does not decide July, but champions know when a quiet mountain stage becomes a mirror.
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