Stage 1 : The flying Dutchman
February 8 th 2025 - 14:01
Decked in their black-and-yellow livery, the Visma–Lease a Bike armada went at full sail to put their captain, Olav Kooij, on a boarding plank to victory on the boulevard hugging the coast of the Sea of Oman. Not one to disappoint his crewmates, the 23-year-old Dutchman snatched the booty at Bimmah Sink Hole, outfencing Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) and Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) in a bunch sprint to claim the opening stage of the fourteenth Tour of Oman and pull on the inaugural red jersey. The 2024 Giro d'Italia stage winner lived up to his status as the man to beat on Saturday. This is his first triumph of the season, his maiden win in Oman —where he is racing for the first time— and his 37th career victory. Five men broke away as soon as the flag dropped and added some excitement to the 177.7-kilometre opener. The blistering sun and the mostly unfavourable winds prevented their advantage from increasing much beyond five minutes. The last two survivors of the breakaway, Rodrigo Álvarez (Burgos Burpellet BH) and the leader of the combativity standings, Kane Richards (Roojai Insurance) were caught with 25 kilometres to go, not long after David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) took third place and a bonus second at the second intermediate sprint.
Five on a bike together
A 120-strong peloton started the fourteenth Tour of Oman, with Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma–Lease a Bike) and Harm Vanhoucke (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) on the DNS list. The flag went down at 11:42 am under the harsh sun shining on Bushar, on the outskirts of Muscat. Race number 1 Adam Yates and his UAE Team Emirates XRG outfit showed their determination to defend the title, with one of their riders jumping out of the peloton from the get-go. It was all for naught, however, as a different five-man group opened up a gap in the first kilometre.
Álvarez and Al-Wahibi divvy up the points
Mohammed Al-Wahibi and Said Al-Rahbi, competing for the Omani national team, hit the front with Rodrigo Álvarez (Burgos Burpellet BH), Kane Richards (Roojai Insurance) and Mohamad Mohd Zariff (Terengganu), who had already featured in the early breakaway of the Muscat Classic yesterday. Their margin quickly grew to three minutes by the time that the peloton got to grips with Jabal Road (3.5 km at 9.2%), the only categorised climb of the day, with 167 kilometres to go. Zariff and Al-Rahbi were dropped a kilometre from the top, leaving Al-Wahibi, Richards and Álvarez to crown the ascent in this same order. The Spaniard got his own back 13 kilometres down the road by taking the first intermediate sprint at Al Amerat.
Kooij hoists the colours
Zariff and Al-Rahbi managed to get back to the front 151 kilometres from the line, with the peloton five minutes back at that point. Rising tensions or, perhaps, the light breeze sweeping through the valley spurred the peloton into action, cutting the gap to 3′35″ with 140 kilometres to go. It was all hands on deck for Olav Kooij's Visma–Lease a Bike squad. The Dutch sprinter relished his status as the hot favourite to win a bunch sprint. Even so, the difference stabilised for a short while, as if the riders were taking the time to admire the landscape replete with what looked like giant molehills, with dark or reddish rocks criss-crossed by striations pointing towards the sky.
A game of cat and mouse
Zariff gave up with 126 kilometres to go, first sinking back into the peloton and then abandoning the race altogether. Kooij's men brought the deficit below the two-minute mark 100 kilometres from the line, only to ease up for a bit and keep the escapees dangling in front for a bit longer. The gap rose to 3′35″ and then fell back to 1′10″ as the peloton got its first glimpse of the finish line. It was a desert mirage, though: there were still 41 kilometres left, half of which would take place on a wide road before doubling back and finally setting course for the finish at Bimmah Sink Hole on a charming coastal road.
Gaudu bags a bonus second and Kooij storms to victory
The rock star of the breakaway, Kane Richards, stepped up the pace with 37 kilometres to go, leaving everyone but Álvarez in the dust. The Australian and the Spaniard fought gallantly, but they were reeled in with 25 kilometres to go, shorty after Richards took the intermediate sprint. The Groupama–FDJ train propelled David Gaudu to third place, which came with a one-second time bonus. From there on, it was gruppo compatto all the way to the finish, with Olav Kooij prevailing in the mad dash to the line to clinch the stage win and seize the first leader's jersey of the fourteenth Tour of Oman.
