Antonio Tiberi secured a superb second place overall at the UAE Tour, narrowly missing out on the red jersey after a week that saw the young Italian write his name into the race’s history books.
The 22-year-old etched his name into history with a sensational solo victory atop Jebel Mobrah, a climb introduced for the first time in this year’s edition of the race. In doing so, Tiberi became the first rider ever to win on the summit of the new ascent. Attacking with conviction, he powered clear of his rivals to claim the stage win and move into the red jersey.
Holding a 21-second advantage heading into Stage 6, Tiberi faced a decisive showdown on the slopes of Jebel Hafeet. Despite responding bravely to multiple accelerations from Isaac Del Toro of UAE Team Emirates XRG, the Italian was ultimately distanced in the final kilometres, relinquishing the race lead after a determined defence of the jersey.
Nevertheless, Tiberi’s performance across the seven-day WorldTour race confirms his exceptional form, following on from a strong showing at the Volta Valenciana earlier this month. His dominant ride on Jebel Mobrah secured Bahrain Victorious’ first stage win at the UAE Tour and the team’s first victory of the 2026 season. The second-place finish overall also represents the team’s highest-ever general classification result at the race.
With this podium finish, Bahrain Victorious has now placed on the overall podium in four of the last five editions of the UAE Tour, underlining its continued strength in the region.
Antonio Tiberi said:
“The race finished today. With second place overall, I can say that I’m really happy with what the team and I achieved. I think we can be very pleased with this week.
Yes, it was a really nice victory on Stage 3 — the best win of my career so far. It was especially special as it was also a new climb at the UAE Tour. There were some really hard moments, but I enjoyed every metre. It’s amazing to look back on it now.
I would definitely like to come back. This is the third time I’ve ridden the UAE Tour, and I really like this race. The location is also quite different from the usual races, and I enjoy racing here.”
