Tour of Oman: Louis Vervaeke takes stunningly narrow stage 2 breakaway victory

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Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-Quickstep) took his first pro victory at the Tour of Oman on stage 2 after attacking from the remnants of the day's breakaway to ride in the final 10km.

The Belgian rider rode clear of his three-man breakaway in the final 10km – attacking over the Al Jissah climb ahead of an undulating final 10km in the race.

Vervaeke was originally part of the day's five-man break containing stage 1 escapees Rodrigo Álvarez (Burgos Burpellet) and Kane Richards (Roojai Insurance) alongside Xabier Mikel Azparren of Q36.5. By the time of his attack over Al Jissah, the breakaway contained Magnus Kulset (Uno-X Mobility) and Azparren, both of whom were swallowed up by the peloton before the final 5km.

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 5km, 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.

Completing an excellent day for Soudal-Quickstep, Vervaeke's teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre took the sprint for second place ahead of Sean Flynn (Picnic-PostNL).

Alongside the stage victory, the solo win delivered Vervaeke into the overall race lead, ahead of Paret-Peintre in second place at a gap of 6 seconds, ahead of Flynn at a margin of 8 seconds.

“It’s such a beautiful day for me, it feels incredible to take my first win as a pro," Vervaeke said after the race. "I came close several times in the past, and to finally pull it off makes me very proud."

Speaking of his final attack, he said, "In the final ten kilometers of the stage I was empty, but I kept thinking of my family and immediately found the power to press on and give my best until the end.

"That’s why I pointed to the tattoo on my right arm when crossing the line, because being a rider means making a lot of sacrifices, both yourself and your family.

"I also want to thank my team, because they gave some valuable help from behind when the chase was on, and this only shows again the Wolfpack spirit."

He praised the team's performance and explained that the focus will now switch to the general classification. "It’s great to get a 1-2 with the team, especially as we came here to win a stage and we’re now delighted to have it. From tomorrow, we’ll focus on the general classification with Valentin and Mauri."

Tomorrow the rider will tackle a mountainous 180.8km route from Fanja to the Eastern Mountain, meaning a likely reordering of the general classification.

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