Isaac del Toro started the UAE Tour in sensational fashion by winning the wind-shortened opening stage in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
With UAE Team Emirates-XRG star rider and three-time champion Tadej Pogacar not racing this year, the focus has shifted to fast-rising Mexican Del Toro.
And the 22-year-old showed no signs of nerves as he took centre stage for the world's No 1 cycling team as he held off the challenge of Dutchman Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) in a sprint finish to claim victory, with Italian rider Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) third.
Pre-race favourite and 2022 Vuelta a Espana champion Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) crossed the line in 20th place, leaving him 10 seconds behind De Toro in the general classification.
The Belgian, who won the UAE Tour crown in 2023, had started the current campaign in impressive fashion.
Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard pulled out last week due the affects of a recent crash and illness.
The stage from Madinat Zayed Majlis to Liwa Palace was reduced from 144km to 118km due to strong crosswinds across exposed desert roads.
“I don't have any words … It's crazy, really,” said Del Toro, making his UAE Tour debut and after securing the overall leader's red jersey for Tuesday's time trial.
“It's unbelievable. I honestly was thinking maybe there is a chance, but maybe just a dream and not realistic, even during the stage I was asking my teammates if they see this properly.
“I just saw a chance and I didn't want to regret it, I saw the riders open to the right, then to the left, and I went for it. It's unbelievable to win the first race of the season as our home race, its crazy.”
Lidl-Trek’s big sprint hope Jonathan Milan endured a tough Stage 1 after crashing 1,500 metres from the end but was able to finish, albeit looking in some pain.
The riders remain in Abu Dhabi for Tuesday's Stage 2, which consists of a 12.2km individual time trial around Al Hudayriyat Island.
“The team was incredible, I’d like to thank them all for what they did," added Del Toro. "It was one of my first days experiencing this kind of wind, it made things really hard.
"It’s nice to have a lead but I’ll keep my feet on the ground, there are many hard stages to come. We all know Remco is unbelievably fast on the TT bike so I’ll aim to be as close as I can be to him or the same as him, or even better.”
