New race leader beats Vansevenant and Bouchard at Jabal Hatt
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Jorgenson celebrates his stage 3 victory(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson attacks to the win(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson celebrates with teammate Carlos Verona(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The peloton zips through Oman during stage 3(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Green jersey holder Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep)(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Cofidis lead the peloton for leader Jesus Herrada in red(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The peloton heads towards the mountains and the summit finish at Jabal Hatt(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The day's breakaway – Stephen Bassett, Alejandro Franco, Johan Meeuns(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Cofidis in charge of the peloton during stage 3(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The peloton rides through hilly terrain in Oman(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Race leader Jesus Herrada (Cofidis)(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Lotto-Dstny lead the peloton up the final climb(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) on the attack late on stage 3(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson makes a move at the front of the lead group in the final(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) won stage 3 of the Tour of Oman with a powerful uphill sprint at Jabal Haat to move into the overeall lead. The American opened his effort from distance, and he was an emphatic winner ahead of Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep) and Geoffroy Bouchard (AG2R Citroën).
Jorgenson takes possession of the red jersey after previous leader Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) was distanced on the final kick to the line.
The stage was always likely to be decided by the 4.6km haul to the finish, and so it proved, with the day’s early escapees Johan Means (Bingoal-WB), Alejandro Franco (Burgos-BH) and Stephen Bassett (Human Powered Health) swept up on the final approach to the climb.
UAE Team Emirates had been prominent in leading the chase on the approach to the climb, while Bora-Hansgrohe and then Lotto-Dstny took up the pace making as the gradient kicked in, quickly whittling the bunch down to 30 or so riders.
The first rider to get any real traction on an acceleration was Jorgenson, who launched a probing effort just outside the final kilometre. He was unable to open a gap, but he did succeed in breaking up the front group still further, with Herrada among those now distanced.
When Jorgenson relented, Rein Taaramae (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) was the next to try from the dozen or so riders still in contention, but the South African couldn’t put daylight between himself and his rivals.
The gradient eased slightly in the final 300 metres, and Jorgenson timed his effort smartly to produce what would be the decisive acceleration. His crisp turn of pace saw him open a winning gap to claim stage victory, while Vansevenant underscored his quality by coming through for second place ahead of Bouchard. Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea-Samsic) took fourth ahead of Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bora-Hansgrohe).
There was further drama in the finishing straight as the chasing group was impended when a gust of wind blew some barriers into the road, though mercifully there appeared to be no fallers in the incident.
In the overall standings, Jorgenson holds a lead of six seconds over Vansevenant and 14 on Bouchard ahead of stage 4 to Yitti Hills, while riders like Uijtdebroeks and Taaramae – hoth 18 seconds down – remain firmly in contention with Wednesday’s summit finish at Jabal Al Akhdhar still to come.
For Jorgenson, victory here was confirmation of the form he had showcased the previous at Qurayyat, where he placed fourth in the uphill dash behind Herrada. The 23-year-old was frustrated there, but he only had 24 hours to wait for his first professional win.
“I was starting to think it would never come,” Jorgenson said afterwards.
“To be honest, things happen in your head, and you think maybe you’re not quite talented enough to do it. Today, I’m just super glad I won and winning there with a little difference is super-nice. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
