Stage 2 : Vervaeke on a big day
February 9 th 2025 - 14:04
Dig deep to break away
A bunch of riders huddled against the ochre walls of Al Rustaq Fort, seeking some respite from the unforgiving morning sun before stage 2 —the longest of the fourteenth Tour of Oman at 202.9 kilometres— got under way. All 119 riders who crossed the finish line yesterday sprang back into action at 10:14 am today. Many riders jockeyed for a position in the breakaway of the day, including two Soudal–Quick-Step riders who tried to assemble a decent group, but nothing stuck until km 9. Kane Richards (Roojai Insurance), determined to defend his golden fleece as the leader of the combativity standings, hit the front together with Rodrigo Álvarez (Burgos Burpellet BH) in a repeat of stage 1, in which the duo had been caught 25 kilometres from the line.
No challenge too big for Vervaeke
Mohamed Al-Wahibi (Omani national team), who had also featured in the breakaway the day before, soon linked up with the men at the front, followed by Mundher Al-Hsani (Omani national team) and Magnus Kulset (Uno-X Mobility) at km 24. The peloton took some time to make up its mind, letting the gap grow to six minutes before splitting into three parts at km 34. After a period of détente allowed the bunch to reform, a 17-man counter-attack sprang from the main group at km 63, including Valentin Madouas (Groupama–FDJ) and Ethan Hayter (Soudal–Quick-Step), but it was soon shut down. It was at this point, with the peloton five minutes behind the lead group with 140 kilometres to go, that Louis Vervaeke (Soudal–Quick-Step) decided to take matters into his own hands.
The lead group swells
It was a bold move, to say the least, but the Belgian managed to close the gap with 102 kilometres to go together with Mikel Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), who had caught up with him 19 kilometres earlier. There were now six men at the front of the race: Al-Hsani had been dropped on the Fanja climb (112.5 km to go), where Álvarez and Kane had been the first riders over the top, as in the Wadi Al Maawil intermediate sprint (144 km to go). Madouas also tried to crash the party, first on his own (km 120) and then with Movistar's Orluis Aular (106 km to go). The Olympic silver medallist and the Venezuelan moved within 4 minutes with 93 kilometres to go, with the peloton trailing by 7′05″, but it was to no avail. The peloton gobbled them up at the second intermediate sprint in Al Kabar (61 km to go), where Álvarez had beaten Kane 5′45″ earlier.
The power of three
Bousher Al Amerat, a 3.3 km ascent at an average gradient of 9.8%, smashed the breakaway to smithereens. Kulset, Vervaeke and Azparren dumped their companions and went over the top (48 km to go) in this same order. The three men soldiered on despite a headwind and the bunch picking up steam under Jayco–AlUla. The gap dwindled from five minutes with 30 kilometres to go to just a minute and a half by 11 kilometres to go, prompting Vervaeke to hit out solo on Al Jissah, the second-last climb of the stage.
Vervaeke hangs on for dear life
The Belgian clearly brought his A game today. Groupama–FDJ put the pedal to the metal in the peloton as Vervaeke reached the bottom of the last difficulty (3 km, including a 1.6 km section at 6.8%) with a minute in hand. A handful of seconds separated the pack from its prey at the beginning of the home straight, as multiple riders crashed in the finale, but it was enough for Vervaeke to raise his arms in triumph, two seconds ahead of his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre, who sprinted to second.
