Del Toro’s Ascent: Tiberi Reflects on UAE Tour Battle and Promising Season Start
Jebel Hafeet witnessed a dramatic shift in the UAE Tour leadership as Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) launched a decisive attack, leaving Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) to concede the red jersey on the penultimate stage. Despite the setback, Tiberi remains optimistic, viewing the week as a significant step forward in his career and acknowledging Del Toro’s strength.
Del Toro’s Dominance on Jebel Hafeet
In the final kilometers of Stage 6, Del Toro unleashed two powerful accelerations. The first move whittled down the contenders to just Tiberi, but the second proved to be the decisive blow, allowing Del Toro to surge ahead and claim both the stage victory and the overall race lead. Cyclingnews reported on the intensity of the battle.
Tiberi’s Perspective: Pride and Respect
Despite losing the lead, Tiberi expressed a sense of pride in his performance. “For all the team and me, of course, it would have been better to keep this jersey and the leadership, but I gave it all my best,” Tiberi stated to Cyclingnews. He acknowledged Del Toro’s strength, saying, “Del Toro pushed me to the limit even more to try to defend this jersey, and I can just be proud and happy as I gave all the energy I had in my body until the finish line.”
Team Support and a Positive Outlook
Bahrain-Victorious performance director Rod Ellingworth echoed Tiberi’s sentiments, emphasizing the team’s commitment and the lack of alternative options in the face of Del Toro’s attacks. “He didn’t really have a choice, I don’t consider, but to follow Del Toro,” Ellingworth explained to Cyclingnews. He added, “If anything happened beforehand which sort of altered the result, then you can be more disappointed, but I think certainly Damiano Caruso said before the day that ‘We don’t have any regrets, and we will offer it 100%’ and the boys did, so it’s disappointing, of course, but I think the guys gave it everything.”
A Strong Start to the Season
Tiberi also highlighted the positive start to his season, noting his first WorldTour win on the hardest stage to Jebel Mobrah earlier in the week. Cycling Up To Date reported that Tiberi stated, “For sure, I appear more to the positive things, because I’ve never started a season like this… now, I’ve already won a race – the last time was in the Tour of Hungary [in May] – and it’s here in February, at the UAE Tour, a WorldTour to race, so I’m super, super happy about the feelings.”
With a final sprint stage remaining in Abu Dhabi, Tiberi is poised to secure a runner-up finish in the WorldTour race, a testament to his strong performance throughout the week. Ellingworth concluded, “I think Antonio has done really well to obtain where he is and to be on the form he’s on. We’ve position up a good fight, and although yes, we’re disappointed, we’ve got to be happy as well.”