Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing), after suffering defeat at the hands of Nathan Haas on stage 2 at the Tour of Oman, took no chances on the third stage to the Wad Dayqah Dam.
His attack in the final kilometer was so powerful that second-placed finisher Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) was three full seconds behind. The victory launched Van Avermaet into the race lead over Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), while Haas dropped to third overall at 13 seconds.
The day started with an almost immediate breakaway of four riders that built an ultimate gap of nearly five minutes before the final two survivors were caught with about 20km to go. From there it was a charge to the top of the climb, where Van Avermaet laid down his winning move.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1