Stage 3 : Gaudu lays down a marker
February 10 th 2025 - 12:22
The fourteenth edition of the Tour of Oman tackled the first of its two summit finishes in Monday's 180.8-kilometre stage 3. Legs tingling in anticipation of their first real test of the season, the climbers went head to head on Eastern Mountain (1,016 masl), under the gaze of Jabal Sham, the highest peak in the Sultanate (3,018 masl). David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) proved strongest in the long-awaited duel that pitted him against the reigning champion, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG). After firing off multiple attacks within the last few hundred metres of the final ascent (4.8 km at 8.5%), the Breton outsprinted the British rider by 1 second, with Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) third at five seconds. Gaudu opened his account for the season and wrested the leader's red jersey from Louis Vervaeke (Soudal–Quick-Step), who was dropped with three kilometres to go after going into the red for his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre, fourth at 13 seconds. Gaudu has 6 seconds in hand over Yates and 12 over Howson going into the last two stages.
Six in the mix
Each of the 117 riders who had reached Yitti Hills yesterday hopped on the saddle for stage 3 in the stifling heat that pervaded Fanja at 10:34 am. Six men made an early move: Nicolas Vinokourov (XDS Astana), Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies), Nur Amirull Mazuki (Terengganu), Andreas Miltiadis (Roojai Insurance) and the Omani national team members Said Al-Rahbi and Mohamed Al-Wahibi. The latter had joined the break in the two previous stages too, but a puncture at km 27 brought his third attempt in as many days to a premature end. Unable to re-establish contact with his erstwhile companions, he sat up and waited for the peloton.
Two squads take over the reins
The escapees spared no effort (44.5 km in the first hour), but the peloton was not willing to give them an inch more than strictly necessary, following Louis Vervaeke's tour de force 24 hours earlier. It was precisely the team of the new overall leader, Soudal–Quick-Step, that set the pace in the bunch to keep the gap below three minutes after it peaked at 3′20″. UAE Team Emirates XRG soon arrived to lend a helping hand and defend the interests of Adam Yates, the reigning champion and hot favourite to take back-to-back titles.
Boulahoite and Vinokourov press on
Meanwhile, utter carnage unfolded in the breakaway, with Al-Rahbi, Miltiadis and Mazuki cracking at 118, 111 and 102 km to go, respectively, leaving Vinokourov Jr and Boulahoite alone at the front for the final 100 kilometres. Unperturbed, the two men kept going and went through the first intermediate sprint at Birkat Al Mouz (58 km to go) with a 2-minute advantage. Vinokourov took top points, while Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL) led the peloton across the line and picked up a bonus second.
Vinokourov in the lead at the foot of the final climb
The pack was in no hurry to shut down the breakaway, allowing the difference to grow back to three minutes. It was still 2′05″ by the time that Vinokourov gapped Boulahoite 10 kilometres from the line. The 22-year-old from Kazakhstan took the second intermediate sprint at Al Hamra —where X grabbed third place and a bonus second— and started the final ascent to Eastern Mountain (4.8 km at 8.4%) with a 50-second buffer.
Gaudu gets the better of Yates
Vinokourov got caught 2.7 kilometres from the line, around the time that the red jersey, Vervaeke, got jettisoned from the main group after working at the front of the peloton. Groupama–FDJ took over from there. Clément Braz Afonso put in a mammoth shift to set up his leader David Gaudu for an attack under the red kite. Despite repeated attempts, the Breton was unable to open up a gap, with Adam Yates glued to his wheel. At long last, Gaudu managed to outgun the British rider in a fiercely contested sprint for the stage win, which also catapulted him to the top of the leader board. He followed in the slipstream of Matteo Jorgenson, the first victor at the top of this summit back in 2023.
