{"id":1774017,"date":"2026-02-16T05:17:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T02:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1774017"},"modified":"2026-02-16T05:17:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T02:17:31","slug":"isaac-del-toro-torches-everybody-in-uae-tour-shock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1774017","title":{"rendered":"Isaac del Toro Torches Everybody in UAE Tour Shock"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2261502097.jpg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Updated February 16, 2026 06:49AM<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Isaac del Toro handed UAE Emirates-XRG victory on day 1 of its home race in sensational fashion Monday.<\/p>\n

\n

The Meckxian Mexican won stage 1 of the UAE Tour with a wild long acceleration on a dragging uphill finale that couldn\u2019t be matched by a who\u2019s who of pure speedsters and fast climbers.<\/p>\n

Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM) closed hard behind Del Toro after the 22-year-old launched his canny early kick to finish second. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) was next best in the pick \u2018n\u2019 mix finishing pack in the Liwa Palace.<\/p>\n

Del Toro\u2019s turn of pace Monday would have done his teammate and mentor Tadej Poga\u010dar proud. In fact, the Slovenian attempted the very same move on the Liwa finale last year but fell short.<\/p>\n

Arriving on the young phenom\u2019s season debut, Del Toro\u2019s blazing victory only reinforces the notion that he might be the hottest prospect in cycling right now.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

DEL TORO\u2026 WTF \ud83e\udd2f #UAETour pic.twitter.com\/8c45Nra2wS<\/p>\n

\u2014 Luk\u00e1\u0161 Ronald Luk\u00e1cs (@lucasaganronald) February 16, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking at the finish, Del Toro suggested his move Monday wasn\u2019t purely opportunistic.<\/p>\n

\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI was thinking I might have a chance, but it was a dream, not realistic,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cI was asking teammates if they saw this properly, but it\u2019s just crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 3-4 percent grade of the final 500m was just enough to hand \u201cTorito\u201d his chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing made me think this was for me rather than sprinters,\u201d he said. \u201cI just saw the chance and didn\u2019t want to regret. I just saw the chance, and went full.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Del
Del Toro launched early and held on for the win.<\/span> (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a tough start to the UAE Tour for alpha sprinter Jonathan Milan. Lidl-Trek\u2019s burly Italian crashed in the finale but was able to pedal to the finish. He appeared banged up and in some pain.<\/p>\n

Lidl-Trek later confirmed that Milan escaped any fractures but will undergo further monitoring for wounds across his elbow, hip, and knee.<\/p>\n

Del Toro takes the red leader\u2019s jersey into a time trial on Tuesday that tilts firmly in the favor of pre-race favorite Remco Evenepoel.<\/p>\n

Red Bull\u2019s rampant new leader finished safe in the bunch-kick and is 10 seconds back after his UAE rival hoovered up the bonuses at the finish line.<\/p>\n

\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Updated February 16, 2026 06:49AM<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/del-toro-uae-tour-shock\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2261502097.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated February 16, 2026 06:49AM Isaac del Toro handed UAE Emirates-XRG victory on day 1 of its home race in sensational fashion Monday. The Meckxian Mexican won stage 1 of the UAE Tour with a wild long acceleration on a dragging uphill finale that couldn\u2019t be matched by a who\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1774017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1774017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1774017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1774017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1774017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}