World champion Lemko Evenpoel's progress towards the Giro d'Italia was noticeably accelerated by the leader of Sidall-Quick Step, who put in a remarkable mountain performance in Jebel Hafeet to win the overall on Sunday in the UAE Tour.

The Belgian rider's bid for a stage win and overall double with a decisive summit finish in the UAE came up short as Adam Yates (UAE Emirates) made a brilliant push with 3km to go.

But even if Yates proved to be untouchable, Evenepoel dug deep and persevered on the sun-drenched slopes of Jebel Hafeet to finish just 10 seconds ahead of the British climber.

After finishing second on Jebel Jais four days earlier, Evenepoel proved enough to take the overall lead, and his second place on Jebel Hafit on Sunday was enough to confirm his GC win.

Next up for Evenpoel is the Volta a Catalunya, but as he says, the omens for the Giro d'Italia, his big goal for 2023, could not be better in the Middle East. after a relatively modest run in San Juan in January, the UAE Tour was a big step forward for him in May. After a relatively low-key run in San Juan in January, the UAE tour was a big step in the right direction for May.

"I'm really proud," Evenpoel said. I wanted to get a good GC in my first race [in 2023], and I haven't been to the highlands yet."

His original UAE goal of a podium and stage win was fully achieved with the overall win and a superb overall performance by Soudal-Quickstep this week. His teammates are also looking very good." He added.

As for missing the win in Jebel Hafit, when Yates was ushered into the press conference tent shortly after him, Evenpoel asked, "Adam, how much power did you have?

"If you know Adam's numbers, you have to be satisfied. I don't think I've ever climbed this climb faster than today," Evenpoel guessed, and indeed, it was confirmed a little later.

"It was pretty crazy from the bottom to the top. We didn't do anything special, but I just can't say I'm happy. I didn't expect to win here, and I came here to get a good result, but to win with a one-minute advantage on GC is pretty big."

"I was in good condition every day this past week. If I hadn't done so much work early on, I might have been able to keep up with Adam today. So I have no regrets."

Evenepoel described the climb itself as simple but "hard. I thought Yates was going to follow my wheel and jump in the last few hundred meters. But in the end I had to push the limits to keep up with him." [Especially in the first few kilometers, I lost all my teammates and Yates attacked. 25]

But as he noted, the gap to Yates at the summit was never too great. Adam had been at altitude all winter, so I knew he would fly on the uphills. But 10 seconds is a tiny difference, so maybe I underestimated myself earlier in the week. But this can only be a good sign for the Giro."

In terms of his preparation for the all-important Giro d'Italia, Evenpoel confirmed that he feels he is heading in the right direction.

"Yes, I do. As I said before, without the high altitude and the special training, I think a lot more improvement is possible. I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy. Also the team I saw, they are good but still not at the top," he said.

"I will now go to the highlands for the first time and start training in earnest for the Giro. But we have achieved a great result here in the UAE, which is a very important race for me as a GC rider.