'The battle for the GC is now on' – Remco Evenepoel sweeps to personal best time trial victory at UAE Tour stage two
The win that put the Belgian in the leader's jersey is his sixth this year
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Remco Evenepoel continued his winning streak at the UAE Tour on Tuesday with a win in the stage two time trial that put him in the GC lead.
The Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider recorded a rapid 13.03 over the 12.2km test around Hudayriyat Island – a personal best 56.1kph for the Belgian. It left Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) trailing by six seconds and third-placed Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ United) at 12 seconds.
It marks 26-year-old Evenepoel's sixth win out of 10 race days so far this year, which doesn't include his GC victory at the Volta Communitat Valenciana.
"It was pretty fast, wasn't it?" Evenepoel said afterwards. "It was a flat course, not technical, so perfect for riding that fast. I'm happy with the win today.
"I think [former GC leader Isaac] Del Toro made the most of it. We knew starting earlier was better... But he won yesterday, I won today. We've both secured that stage win now, so…"
"The battle for the general classification is on now. I'd rather be ahead than behind. I think it's better to defend than to attack. So this is the perfect situation for me."
Evenepoel began the year with a hat-trick of wins in the Trofeo Majorca races, followed by a brace of stages and GC victory at the Volta Valenciana, and now this. He could hardly have wished for a better start to the season with his new team.
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After a lumpy stage yesterday, won by Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), it was all change in the GC top-10 after the time trial, with only two riders remaining in that higher bracket. The new occupants mostly leapt up from way down on GC, with Tarling slotting in from 99th place to second and new third-place Cavagna popping up from 83rd.
Soudal Quick-Step's Ethan Hayter was fourth on the time trial and thus now fourth on GC, with Daan Hoole (Decathlon CMA CGM) – a Giro d'Italia stage winner last year – fifth and fifth.
As alluded to by Evenepoel, Del Toro was 27th in the time trial and now occupies that same place on GC and is now 10th on GC, just 32 seconds behind the Belgian. Also within the top-10 are Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) and Del Toro's team-mate Florian Vermeersch. The GC race is indeed now on, and with one hilly and two mountain stages still to come, it should be a race well worth watching.
UAE Tour 2026: stage two ITT, Hudayriyat Island, 12.2km
1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, 12.2km in 13.03
2. Josh Tarling (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, +6s
3. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United, +12s
4. Ethan Hayter (Gbr) Soudal Quick-Step, +25s
5. Daan Hoole (Ned) Decathlon CMA CGM, +26s
6. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco-AlUla, +26s
7. Artem Shmidt (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, +29s
8. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +30s
9. Stefan Bisegger (Swi) Decathlon CMA CGM, +31s
10. Rune Herregodts (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +33s
General classification after stage two
1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, 12.2km in 13.03
2. Josh Tarling (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, +6s
3. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United, +12s
4. Ethan Hayter (Gbr) Soudal Quick-Step, +25s
5. Daan Hoole (Ned) Decathlon CMA CGM, +26s
6. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco-AlUla, +26s
7. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +30s
8. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +30s
9. Stefan Bisegger (Swi) Decathlon CMA CGM, +31s
10. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +32s
After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.
Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.
He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.
A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.
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