After leaping onto the podium on the penultimate stage, Luke Plapp stayed firm on the final day to hold onto third overall at the UAE Tour.
It is Plapp’s second time on the general classification podium, after he finished second in the 2023 edition. It continues a strong run of form in the early part of the 2026 season for Plapp, who finished third in the Muscat Classic at the start of February after setting up his Team Jayco AlUla teammate Mauro Schmid for victory.
The seventh and final stage, held on the streets of Abu Dhabi, offered no particular drama and concluded with a group sprint that saw Luka Mezgec finish in eighth place. Meanwhile, Plapp finished within the bunch to hold onto his overall podium.
Aside from Plapp’s podium finish, along with his second-place finish on the queen stage that finished atop Jebel Hafeet, the Team Jayco AlUla was a key player in almost every stage, achieving five top-10 finishes out of seven stages.
Luke Plapp
“It was an amazing week here in the UAE with the whole team. The boys took care of me all week and I’m super proud and happy to be able to repay them with third in GC. It’s the second time I have been on the podium for GC on this race. So it was very nice to come back here and make even better memories.”
David McPartland (Sport Director)
“It has been a really good week here at the UAE Tour. We came here with a bit of ambitions in the GC and also to give to Luka Mezgec an opportunity to sprint. So, we have had a very busy week with goals everyday and basically we achieved everything we can with Luke Plapp on podium. Plappy showed that he is one of the strongest in the race; on both mountain days and in the time trial he has always been amongst the best and all the boys supported him very well the whole week. In the end, it a good race week and personally I’m very proud of the guys for the work they have all done.”
2026 UAE Tour final general classification result
1. Isaac Del Toro 21:10:30
2. Antonio Tiberi +20
3. Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) 1:14
Photo: Sprint Cycling
