Evenepoel Collapse a Red Flag or Just a Bad Day?

Remco Evenepoel and his fairytale start to 2026 ended bitterly on the steepest climb so far this season at the UAE Tour.

Does the stinging time loss on Wednesday on the kind of climb he’ll be facing off against Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard later this season raise red flags, or is it just early-season jitters?

“My legs didn’t feel fresh all day. I hadn’t digested that tough time trial the day before well. At the beginning of that final climb, I got caught by the first attackers, and I paid the price,” Evenepoel said at the line. “The climb was poorly paced, which wasn’t tactically smart of me. Maybe I got a bit overconfident because Del Toro had already dropped out.”

After seven wins in 10 race days, Evenepoel’s dream debut lost its wings a day after he powered to his fastest-ever time trial victory.

The Belgian superstar handed back all that time and more on Wednesday’s brutal summit finish, and lost touch when the race ignited and paid for overeager pacing in the heat and wind. He plummeted to 11th overall at 1:44 back.

It’s easy to say this is only February and nothing really matters until later this season.

That’s partly true, but Evenepoel wanted to win the UAE Tour, and now he has almost no chance.

Of cycling’s “Big 3,” only Evenepoel is racing, so it’s hard to draw too many direct conclusions.

Vingegaard pulled the plug on the UAE Tour after illness and a crash. Pogačar waits for his debut at Strade Bianche next month.

But a high-profile crack on a decisive climb in any stage race is far from ideal in cycling’s big-money, no-room-for-error pressure cooker for supremacy.

‘It’s not a disaster’

Wednesday’s GC collapse is noteworthy because it reveals perhaps Evenepoel’s biggest chink in his armor — his sometimes patchiness in the harder climbs.

Winning stage races requires consistency and limiting losses when things go off the rails. And Evenepoel is specifically targeting these kinds of one-week stage races this year.

This one was a red-line effort in mid-February, but it’s the latest in a pattern of Evenepoel running hot and cold in sometimes disconcerting regularity.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe brass shook off suggestions that something else is wrong with its blockbuster star signing.

“Remco probably hadn’t fully recovered from that time trial, but I think that was the case with several other guys,” Lodewyck told Het Nieuwsblad. “He was also way too enthusiastic at the start of that climb. If you saw where Del Toro was, he really had to pace himself.

“Remco just had a good feeling, but then he completely exploded. If you see the values from that first kilometer, it makes sense. But I don’t think it was pure cramps.”

Lodewyck is telegraphing that one bad effort after what’s been an otherwise stellar season debut isn’t a reason to panic.

February form is notoriously all over the map, and it looks like Evenepoel went too hard too soon and paid for it.

Just look at Del Toro. He lit up Monday’s opening stage to surprise the sprinters, bled time in the short race against the clock on Tuesday, then struggled early in Wednesday’s climbing finale only to pounce late to gap Evenepoel to move back within striking distance of the leader’s jersey.

Evenepoel vows to regroup and target another ego-salvaging win on Saturday’s summit finale at Jebel Hafeet.

Like he’s done after high-profile collapses, similar to the 2023 Vuelta a España, Evenepoel usually comes out swinging to race on pride despite losing GC options.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is taking the long view.

“Would we have preferred it to be different? Absolutely, but it wasn’t a disaster.” Lodewyck said ahead of Thursday’s transition stage tipped for the sprinters. “We’re going to try to win another stage with Remco on Saturday.”

No season ever unfolds without a few hiccups.

The most important thing right now for Evenepoel is to continue racing without serious injuries, crashes, or season-altering mishaps that have dogged his past few campaigns.

But on the steepest slopes, even the aero bullet can stall. Something to worry about against the likes of Vingegaard and Pogačar later this season? Time will tell.