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Observer
10-02-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Vervaeke punches to Stage 2 victory
Louis Vervaeke of Soudal Quick-Step grabbed his maiden professional win as the Belgian rider punched ahead with a timing of four hours 45 minutes and six seconds in the 203 km second stage of Tour of Oman on Sunday. Vervaeke triumphed atop the Yitti Hills to claim the red jersey for the overall leader, beating his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre (+ 2') and Sean Flynn (+2') of Picnic PostNL. Germans Felix Engelhardt of Team Jayco AlUla and Marco Brenner of Tudor completed the top five with 30 riders making a last-gasp finish behind the top three in 04:45:08. The stage, longest of the Tour of Oman, began at the scenic Al Rustaq Fort. The five riders in the early breakaway pushed their advantage to five minutes at the foot of Bausher-Al Amerat, where the going got tough. Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step) and Mikel Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) managed to bridge the gap near the halfway point. The Belgian and the Spaniard soon upped the pace with Magnus Kulset (Uno-X Mobility) in tow. Although the new three-man lead group still enjoyed a five-minute buffer going into the last 30 km, it melted to just over a minute with 10 km to go, when Vervaeke went for broke. The 31-year-old puncheur grabbed his first professional win, crossing the finish line with just two seconds to spare over the peloton in a crash-marred finale. CHAOS AT FINISH The Belgian rider rode clear of his three-man breakaway in the final 10 km — attacking over the Al Jissah climb ahead of an undulating final 10 km in the race. Attacks came from the main group, including a major move by David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) to bridge the narrow gap to the Belgian solo rider, but the moves were brought back within the final 5 km, when the bunch began to aggressively chip into Vervaeke's one-minute lead. However, despite an animated chase, the peloton was left only metres behind the Belgian on the finish line in Yitti Hills, as crosswinds and chaos in the sprint saw multiple riders crash in the final 300m. Vervaeke continued his punch, two seconds ahead of his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre, who sprinted to second past Flynn. The stage win delivered Vervaeke into the overall race lead, ahead of Paret-Peintre in second place at a gap of 6 seconds and Flynn in third at a margin of 8 seconds. On Monday, the cyclists will tackle a mountainous 180.8 km route from Fanja to the Eastern Mountain in the third stage of Tour of Oman. Tour of Oman Stage 3 Results Rank, Rider, Country, Team, Time 1. Louis Vervaeke, Belgium, Soudal Quick-Step, 04:45:06 2. Valentin Paret-Peintre, France, Soudal Quick-Step, + 02 3. Sean Flynn, Great Britain, Team Picnic PostNL, + 02 4. Felix Engelhardt, Germany, Team Jayco-AlUla, + 02 5. Marco Brenner, Germany, Tudor Pro Cycling Team, + 02 6. Henok Mulubrhan, Eritrea, XDS Astana Team, + 02 7. Steff Cras, Belgium, Team Total Energies, + 02 8. Adam Yates, Great Britain, UAE Team Emirates, + 02 9. Mathys Rondel, France, Tudor Pro Cycling Team, + 02 10. David Gaudu, France, Groupama-FDJ, + 02
Observer
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Pluimers bags maiden pro win at Muscat Classic
Muscat: Rick Pluimers of the Netherlands bagged the top honours in the third edition of Muscat Classic race ahead of the Tour of Oman, on Friday. The Tudor Pro Cycling Team (Switzerland) rider completed the 170.3 km road race from Al Mouj Muscat to Al Bustan in 4 hours 16 minutes and 50 seconds to win the race, held in a pleasant weather. The Dutch cyclist leapfrogged the winner of the opening Muscat Classic, Belgian Jenthe Biermans (Arkea–B&B Hotels) and Eritrea's Henok Mulueberhan (XDS Astana), who finished in second and third places respectively. 'It's a super nice way to win my first pro victory. I knew I was one of the fastest riders in the group so I only focused on my sprint,'' Pluimers said, attributing his win to the hard work put in by the team. Tudor Pro Cycling Team's Netherland rider Rick Pluimers celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the one day Muscat Classic cycling race. in Muscat on February 7, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP) As many as 28 riders had the same time including fourth-placed Diego Ulissi of Astana and Groupama's Tom Donnenwirth of France. Ninety riders completed the race while 24 cyclists couldn't finish and three did not start. This was the third edition of Muscat Classic, a one-day race that began as warm-up act for the Tour of Oman in 2023. The race witnessed rolling barrage of attacks as the peloton, reduced to under 30 units, reeled in the lead group consisting of Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) and Chris Harper (Jayco–AlUla) in sight of the line. In the end, the precocious Rick Pluimers (Tudor) prevailed in the bunch sprint and bagged the first professional win of his career. Tudor Pro Cycling Team's Netherland rider Rick Pluimers (C) poses on the podium after winning the Muscat Classic cycling race ahead of second place Arkea B&B Hotels Team's Belgian rider Jenthe Biermans (L), and third place XDS Astana team's Erythrean rider Henok Mulueberhan (R), in Muscat on February 7, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP) 114-STRONG PELOTON A 114-strong peloton rolled out from Al Mouj Muscat, with Jorgen Nordhagen (Visma–Lease a Bike), Tim Naberman (Picnic PostNL) and Davide Cimolai (Movistar) not making the start. Adne van Engelen (Terengganu) jumped out of the peloton with his teammate Mohamad Mohd Zariff and Rasmus Bogh Wallin (Uno-X Mobility). Their margin soon grew from 1′30″ at km 10 to 4′30″ at km 23 before peaking at 7 minutes at km 30. After the gap hit 6′45″, UAE Team Emirates and Visma–Lease a Bike traded turns at the front of the peloton. As the race reached 73 km, the first slopes whittled the breakaway down to two men after the 2022 Malaysian national champion lost contact. Wallin was gapped by Van Engelen on the ascent to Bausher-Al Amerat but managed to reconnect on the descent. Their advantage dipped below the 2′30″ mark at km 85. The Dutchman finally got rid of the Norwegian for good on the Hamriyah climb (km 111). The start of the final circuit encouraged several riders to try their luck. Kanter (XDS Astana), Boulahoite (TotalEnergies) and Azparren (Q36.5) flew past Van Engelen at km 127. The Q36.5 Spaniard hit the front of the race, only to be undone in turn by Lorenzo Germani (Groupama–FDJ), who launched a solo move from 34 km out, half a minute ahead of the peloton. Tudor Pro Cycling Team's netherland rider Rick Pluimers (3rd L) celebrates with teammates after winning the Muscat Classic cycling race, in Muscat on February 7, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP) NEW QUARTER A new three-man group consisting of Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step) and Harper (Jayco–AlUla) counter-attacked and caught Germani with 17 km to go. The newly formed quartet held a 25-second margin over the peloton going into the final 10 km. The Italian youngster racing for Groupama–FDJ ran out of steam with 6 km to go. Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) stormed out of the peloton and linked up with Vine and Harper at the front. However, with just 7 seconds to spare with 2 kilometres to go, it was not to be. A much-reduced peloton took charge, leaving Pluimers for the final kill on the false flat leading to the finish line and fly to his maiden win as a professional rider. The pack rides during the Muscat Classic cycling race, in Muscat on February 7, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP) Muscat Classic results Position, Rider, Country, Team, Time 1. Rick Pluimers (Netherlands) Tudor Pro Cycling Team 04:16:50 2. Jenthe Biermans (Belgium) Arkea-B&B Hotels + 00 3. Henok Mulubrhan (Eritrea) XDS Astana Team + 00 4. Diego Ulissi (Italy) XDS Astana Team + 00 5. Tom Donnenwirth (France) Groupama-FDJ + 00 6. Valentin Paret-Peintre (France) Soudal Quick-Step + 00 7. Davide Toneatti (Italy) XDS Astana Team + 00 8. Ivan Cortina Garcia (Spain) Movistar Team + 00 9. Mauri Vansevenant (Belgium) Soudal Quick-Step + 00 10. Stian Fredheim (Norway) Uno-X Mobility + 00
