The victory of Mexican cyclist Isaac del Toro, a star of the Emirates XRG team, has garnered special attention in international media, particularly in his home country, while European and global media outlets have highlighted the race's significance and the level of competition, confirming the UAE Tour's status as one of the premier events on the International Cycling Union's calendar. The third stage, to be held tomorrow, Wednesday, February 18, will be one of the most important and longest stages of the tour, representing the first of two mountain stages. The stage, organized by the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, covers a total distance of 183 km and starts from Umm Al Quwain, passing through many of the emirate's landmarks before heading directly to the final and most difficult part: the climb to the summit of Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah. The final ascent is approximately 15 km long, with an average gradient of 7% to the first summit, followed by a medium climb of 12%, and a final ascent reaching 17%. "We knew that starting early would be better. He won yesterday, and I won today, so now each of us has a stage win. With a tough climb coming up, it's better to defend the lead rather than be forced to attack," said the stage winner. "The course was mostly flat, which made it ideal for achieving high speed. From this moment on, the competition for the general classification will be wide open," he added. "I was aiming for my first individual win at the UAE Tour, especially after our team time trial victory in 2023 and two second-place finishes on mountain stages. This win gives me a great feeling today," del Toro stated. He also added: "Isaac del Toro gave it his all. Mexico topped the list of countries with the most news articles, followed by Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Leading international media such as The Guardian, Cycling News, VeloNews, and Agence France-Presse provided extensive coverage of the event and the results of the first stage. "I am very happy with what I achieved today. It's a perfect situation for us, and now we need to defend the lead until next Sunday," said the new race leader. The UAE Tour 2026 has attracted wide international media attention. According to a media monitoring report on the first stage held yesterday in Al Dhafra, over 850 articles were published in 46 different countries following the opening day of the race, reflecting the UAE Tour's growing global standing. Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel, a star of the German team Bora-Hansgrohe, won the second (Breitling) stage of the UAE Tour 2026. He finished ahead of British rider Joshua Tarling, who came in second with a 6-second gap, and Frenchman Remy Cavagna of Groupama-FDJ, who was third, 12 seconds behind. The winner of the first stage, Mexican Isaac del Toro of the Emirates XRG team, was the last to start the individual time trial but was unable to achieve the necessary speed for the fastest time, finishing in 25th place, losing the red jersey to Evenepoel by about 42 seconds. With his stage win, Remco Evenepoel took the overall lead and secured the red jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Ports Group. The green jersey (sponsored by Mubadala) also went to Evenepoel. The white jersey (sponsored by Burjeel Holdings) for the best young rider went to Joshua Tarling. The black jersey (sponsored by The Real Estate Group) was won by Italian Jonathan Milan of the German team Lidl-Trek. The winners of the second stage were honored by Sheikh Hamdan bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Director of International Events at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and other dignitaries.
