Vansevenant wins final stage, finishes a second down on GC
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Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) won the Tour of Oman(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep) won the final stage(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson closes out the race with the green jersey(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
He also took the white jersey as best young rider(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Louis Bendixen (Uno-X) took home the most active rider prize(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Matteo Jorgenson in the Tour of Oman's leader's jersey(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Tour of Oman stage 5 breakaway(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton races along to the summit finish at Green Mountain(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) in the peloton(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Feeding time in the peloton for Movistar, Jorgenson and the rest of the riders(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Oliver Naesen (AG2R Citroën) in the peloton on stage 5(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson defends his leader's jersey on the road to Green Mountain(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The peloton on the road to Green Mountain(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson leads the elite climbing group up the finale of Green Mountain(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Vansevenant strikes out for the stage win(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The Belgian won the stage but couldn't overhaul Jorgenson for the overall win(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
Jorgenson celebrates with teammate Abner Gonzalez(Image credit: Alex BroadwayGetty Images)
The USA’s Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) won the Tour of Oman after controlling his rivals on the climb to Green Mountain and finishing in the same time as stage winner Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep).
The young Belgian was only five seconds behind Jorgenson in the overall classification before the stage. He gained four seconds thanks to the time bonuses but Jorgenson was crowned overall winner by a single second.
Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) finished third on the stage at 12 seconds and so moved up to third overall at 28 seconds.
Jorgenson won stage 3 to Jabal Hatt, the first win of his career, to take the leader’s red jersey. Securing overall victory marks another major step in the career of the 23-year-old American.
Jorgenson told Cyclingnews that he is still discovering his limits. He has proven he can climb but will also head to Belgium for the first time since 2020, with the idea of seeing how he can do in the cobbled Classics.
"Today was about the team, they were super strong and gave me super support. It was about confidence and about doing my best on the climb if I could," Jorgenson said after the finish.
"It was between the top 3 in the GC and with the time bonuses, it was difficult to know how it would go. I had to finish in the same time as Mauri. He has a good kick and is strong. I think the guy with the strongest sprint won the stage and I hung on for GC, so I'm so happy."
As to be expected the final stage of the Tour of Oman was all about the finish atop Green Mountain. In seven of the 10 previous finishes on the six-kilometre, 10.5% climb, the stage winner has also captured the final overall victory.
107km of the 152.2km stage were run on flat desert roads, with only some rolling roads and gradual climbs on the ride to the foot of Green Mountain.
The early break formed quickly, with Lawrence Naesen (AG2R Citroën), Cereal Desal (Bingoal WB), Angel Fuentes (Burgos-BH), Faisal Al-Mamari (Oman National Team), Ben Perry (Human Powered Health), Irwandie Lakasek (Terengganu Polygon) and Manabu Ishibashi (JCL Team Ukyo) going away in search of glory.
The peloton allowed them to open a 4:00 gap but Movistar, Astana Qazaqstan, UAE Team Emirates and Lotto Dstny rode on the front to keep them in check.
Al-Mamari won the intermediate sprint at Wadi Squt after 89 km but soon after the break began to struggle as he and Lakasek were dropped.
As Green Mountain loomed on the horizon, Astana Qazaqstan took up the pace in the peloton, reducing the gap on the break. Fuentes won the second intermediate sprint in Birkat Al Mouz at the foot of the climb but he was soon dropped as the gradient began to increase.
Perry was also dropped from the break, leaving just Naesen and Desal out front. Movistar then took over on the front, riding a fast but controlled pace for Jorgenson. Then Louis Meintjes took cover for Intermarché-Circus-Wanty teammate Rein Taaramäe.
The high pace in the peloton meant that Naesen and Desal were finally swept up with four kilometres of Green Mountain to climb, with only a dozen riders in the front group. Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) and 2022 overall winner Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) were at the back and clearly suffering.
They and other riders were dropped as soon as the steepest gradients began in the final two kilometres. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) was soon distanced and the battle for the stage victory and overall victory began.
Taaramäe was overly aggressive and rode on the front for a long spell but paid for it as the gradient steepened and was distanced. That left Jorgenson, Vansevenant and Bouchard together.
Vansevenant tried an attack but Jorgenson was soon on his wheel, with Bouchard also getting back to them. Jorgenson then watched and marked him closely before making his own attack on the final sweeping curve to the finish line.
Jorgenson seemed set to win the stage but Vansevenant came back to pass him in the final 50 metres, securing the 900th victory in QuickStep's long history in the process. Fortunately for Jorgenson, he had something left to stay with Vansevenant, finish on the same time, and so secure overall victory by a second.
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
