Kooij sprints to second victory in Tour of Oman
MUSCAT: Olav Kooij (Visma–Lease a Bike) reaffirmed his sprinting prowess by claiming his second stage victory in the Tour of Oman, powering past Giacomo Nizzolo (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) in a high-speed finish outside the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday.
The Dutchman, who also won the opening stage, capitalised on a perfectly executed lead-out to dominate the bunch sprint on the slightly uphill drag to the line.
The stage started at the striking Oman Across Ages Museum, with 116 riders rolling out for the 181.5 km route. Following an 8 km neutralisation, an early breakaway formed almost immediately, featuring Kongphob Thimachai (Roojai Insurance), Abdulrehman Al Yaaqubi (Omani national team), and Muhammad Mohd Shabri (Terengganu).
With none of them posing a GC threat, the peloton allowed them to build a sizeable advantage, which peaked at 9 minutes 15 seconds at the 35 km mark - the largest gap recorded in this year's race.
As the race progressed, the breakaway began to splinter. Al Yaaqubi sat up with 90 km remaining, reducing the lead group to two. Seven kilometres later, Shabri suffered a puncture while navigating a twisting mountain road, narrowly avoiding a crash. Thimachai briefly waited for his companion before pressing on solo with 50 km to go. However, the peloton, led by Visma–Lease a Bike, had already begun to ramp up the pace, reducing the gap to just over two minutes.
At the second intermediate sprint in Ad Dasur, Shabri took maximum points, having also won the earlier sprint in Al Alya. Behind them, Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Arkéa–B&B Hotels) secured third place, gaining a valuable bonus second to inch closer to the top ten in the general classification.
Sprint showdown in Muscat
Thimachai made one final desperate attack, but his solo effort was short-lived as the peloton reeled him in with 13 km to go. From there, the stage was set for a drag race to the finish. The final kilometre featured a slight incline, but Kooij made no mistake, launching his sprint at the perfect moment to overpower his rivals and claim another emphatic win.
David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) retained the overall lead, holding a six-second advantage over Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) ahead of the decisive final stage on Green Mountain. With a summit finish on the horizon, the battle for overall victory is set to reach its climax.
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