Liwa Palace (United Arab Emirates) - sunday 16 february 2026 - The 2026 season could not have started better for Isaac Del Toro, who made his season debut by winning the opening stage of the UAE Tour, immediately confirming himself as one of the riders to watch throughout the week. On the steep ramp of Liwa Palace, Del Toro got the better of Cees Bol after a sprint fought all the way to the final metre, with Antonio Tiberi, another key rider for the general classification, rounding out the first podium of this UAE Tour. Jonathan Milan, winner on this same finish in 2025, was not part of the fight for the win, having been involved in a crash a few kilometres from the finish. Tomorrow, the 12.2 km individual time trial on Al Hudayriyat Island will represent the first true test for the general classification contenders.

PRESS CONFERENCE
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner and Red Jersey Isaac Del Toro said: "Obviously I didn’t know how my form was as it’s the first race of the year for me but I’m super happy with the legs I had today. It was kind of the plan to try and win stage 1, so we had to stay together as a team and we’re happy as a team that we did it. We knew there would be a head wind, it was kinda difficult in the finale. Honestly I’ve worked on my time trialing but not as much as I need. It’s the dream to still lead the UAE Tour after the time trial. I hope to be fast tomorrow, I’m not thinking of losing time [on Remco Evenepoel], I’m thinking of doing my best and we’ll see later what’s the situation. The most important for winning this race will be to not lose focus during the week".
Speaking seconds after the stage finish, the stage winner and first Red Jersey Isaac Del Toro said: "This is really crazy and unbelievable. I was thinking there might be a chance but that was a dream, not being realistic. During the stage I questioned my teammates if they could see this properly happening but it's still crazy that I've made it. I saw a possibility to try and win. I didn't want to finish the race with any regrets. I saw a rider opening a gap so I went but while I was sprinting I didn't know where the other riders were. I went full gas. Like two years ago at the Tour Down Under, winning in the first race of the year is something you want but it's even better to do it for my team here in the UAE".

STATISTICS
Isaac Del Toro records his first win at the UAE Tour, making Mexico the 15th winning country in the history of the race.
Isaac Del Toro posted his 22nd Pro win. In his career he had won only once this early in the season: on the 17th of January, 2024, stage 2 of the Tour Down Under. Last year he opened his account at Milano-Torino and ended the season with 18 wins.
For the first time the UAE Team wins the opening stage of its home race.
This was their 11th stage win at the UAE Tour, equalling the record of Soudal-Quick Step.
The top-3 riders in stage 1 had never finished on a stage podium before at the UAE Tour. Isaac del Toro is at his first entry, Cees Bol at his 5th, Antonio Tiberi at his 3rd.

TOMORROW'S STAGE
STAGE 2, AL HUDAYRIYAT ISLAND BREITLING ITT STAGE, 12.2 KM
The route - Stage 2 is an Individual Time Trial that takes place entirely inside Al Hudayriyat Island. The route is very fast and features only a few right-angle bends and two U-turns. The road is perfectly flat, wide and with sweeping turns, which will allow the riders to maintain very high speeds (wind permitting).
Final kilometres - Wide curves, wide road, excellent pavement. The finish line is on asphalt.

STAGE 1 RESULTS
1. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
km 118 in 2h30’56" average speed 46.908 km/h
2. Cees Bol  (Decathlon CMA CGM Team)
3. Antonio Tiberi  (Bahrain Victorious)
4. Matteo Malucelli  (XDS Astana Team)
5. Alessandro Romele  (XDS Astana Team)
6. Ilan Van Wilder  (Soudal Quick-Step)
7. Riley Pickrell  (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)
8. Lennert Van Eetvelt  (Lotto-Intermarché)
9. Ethan Vernon  (NSN Cycling Team)
10. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
2. Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) a 4″
3. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) a 6″
4. Jonathan Milan (Lidl Trek) a 7″
5. Ben Tulett (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) a 8″
6. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarché) a 9″
7. Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana Team) a 10″
8. Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana Team)
9. Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step)
10. Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)

THE OFFICIAL JERSEYS
Red Jersey, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by AD Ports Group - Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
Green Jersey, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by Mubadala - Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
White Jersey, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Burjeel Holdings - Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
Black Jersey, leader of the Intermediate Sprint Classification, sponsored by ALDAR - Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)