On the penultimate day of the UAE Tour, the peloton faced a 168-kilometer stage. The decisive action came in the finale, with the finish line atop Jebel Hafeet, a ten-kilometer climb averaging 7.2 percent. Jebel Hafeet has by now become a fixed value of this stage race. 

A breakaway group of seven riders animated the flat opening phase. As the race approached Jebel Hafeet, tension in the peloton increased. With twenty kilometers to go before the foot of the climb, Wilco Kelderman and Ben Tulett were involved in a crash. The two Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were able to continue. 

From the foot of Jebel Hafeet, the pace in the peloton increased significantly. The gap to the last remaining breakaway riders was quickly closed, and the high tempo caused many riders to drop back. Around five kilometers from the summit, the general classification favorites launched their first attacks. A move by Felix Gall and Harold Tejada was answered by Del Toro and Antonio Tiberi. In the chasing group, Nordhagen once again made a strong impression. Meanwhile, Del Toro rode solo to the stage win and also took over the overall lead. More than a minute and a half behind the Mexican, Nordhagen crossed the finish line in sixth place. 

“I am extremely satisfied with this performance,” Nordhagen said afterward. “It was my first time climbing Jebel Hafeet, so I stayed a bit conservative at the start. From the foot, the pace was very high, but I felt that I had good legs today. I couldn’t respond to Del Toro’s accelerations, so I decided to ride at my own pace. In the end, that proved to be the right decision to finish in the top ten again.” 

With one stage remaining, Nordhagen moves up to eighth place in the general classification. “I didn’t dare to hope that I would finish in the top ten here,” the Norwegian said. “I don’t have much experience at this level yet, so I’m happy that I was able to show myself among all these big names. Over the winter, I already noticed that I had taken another step forward, so it’s great to see that reflected in the results. Eighth place overall exceeds my expectations, so I want to thank my team for their support today.”