photo credits @ Tour of Oman
Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep) claimed the final stage of the Tour of Oman on the steep slopes of Green Mountain today, dropping race leader David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) with two kilometers to go as the gradient kicked upwards of 10% with Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in tow. Gaudu dug deep to get back on their wheels but an attack from Yates inside the final kilometer left the French rider unable to respond.
However, Paret-Peintre proved formidable, surging away from Yates after the final curve to claim the stage honors a few bike lengths ahead of his British rival. But, his second-place finish was enough for Yates to seal the overall victory for the second year in a row.
Race Highlights
With 138 kilometers on the menu today, a breakaway of eighteen riders managed to go clear after about ten kilometers, forcing the peloton into a frantic, continuous chase throughout the day. Enzo Paleni set the tempo at the head of the pack for almost a hundred kilometers, with two other teams, to make sure the fugitives did not enjoy too big of a lead. The breakaway eventually got a maximum lead of 2:30, which gradually reduced in the last thirty kilometers, with the Green Mountain in sight. The increasing nervousness also led to the crash of Rudy Molard and Clément Braz Afonso with ten kilometers to go.
At the bottom of the final climb, six kilometers from the finish, a handful of riders still had a one-minute lead, but the extremely fast pace set by Adam Yates’ teammates not only drastically reduced the peloton, but also put an end to the adventure of the day’s attackers. Halfway up the climb, only about ten men left in the group of favorites, including David Gaudu, well positioned in the wheel of his main rival.
“I didn’t have extraordinary feelings, but it was still alright at the bottom,” said Gaudu. “Then, Jay Vine’s pull really hurt my legs, especially on the flatter section.” So, when the road picked up again to almost 15%, two kilometers from the summit, the Breton lost a few meters for the first time. “I managed my effort when Yates accelerated for the first time,” he said. “I came back, and with one kilometer to go, I tried to bluff. I got back alongside them, I then closed my mouth, and held back the pain hoping they would take a knock mentally. I thought: “Maybe it can work.” But it didn’t work (smiles).” About 600 meters from the line, another attack by Yates got the better of the Frenchman, and the Briton flew away with Paret-Peintre who beat him in the sprint.
Gaudu reached the summit in third position, forty-five seconds later, which was too much to keep the leader’s jersey on his shoulders. “When you have the jersey in the morning and you can’t keep it in the final stage, you’re disappointed for sure,” he said later. “But I gave it my all. I fought with what I had today, I had to let go one kilometer from the finish and I completely blew up. If it had been decided by one second, I would have been much more frustrated. In this case, I can’t complain about anything. They were stronger than me on this last climb, I can just bow and say bravo to them.”
“The frustration of having lost the jersey quickly went away because we know that David gave everything”, added Bricaud. “The hierarchy on the final climb was clear, and he was missing a little bit”.
The 28-year-old climber nevertheless secured his place on the final podium, in third position, to conclude this great week of racing in Oman. “We would have signed up straight away for the podium overall and a stage win,” Thierry recalled. “Apart from that, the team’s spirit and commitment are very interesting going forward. Everyone was up to the task, and it shows the winter preparation was good. We know we’re ready, now we have to keep going.”
Gaudu concluded: “We would have liked to put the icing on the cake but that’s part of cycling. There will always be more disappointing moments than happy moments. We’ll quickly get over this small disappointment to be ready next weekend for the races in the South of France!”
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