Stage 4 : Kooij on the double
February 11 th 2025 - 12:56
In the wake of the first summit finish, the pancake-flat course of stage 4 of the Tour of Oman was a gift-wrapped opportunity for the sprinters, who did not let it go to waste. After completing a winding run through ochre-hued mountains and catching the last survivor of the three-man breakaway —Kongphob Thimachai (Roojai Insurance)— 13 kilometres from the line, the fast men revved up for a drag race to the finish line outside the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Muscat. Olav Kooij (Visma–Lease a Bike) was once again the speediest of the lot, charging to his second victory in the race three days after bagging stage 1 in another bunch sprint. The Dutchman outgunned Giacomo Nizzolo (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Orluis Aular (Movistar Team), at the top of the false flat in the final kilometre. David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) held on to the red jersey, still with 6 seconds to spare over Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) on the eve of the finale, where the race will come to a head on Green Mountain.
Three riders take the lead
116 riders hopped on the saddle for stage 4 against the sleek, futuristic backdrop of the imposing Oman Across Ages Museum, which showcases the national heritage. The official start came at 11:08 am, following an 8-kilometre neutralisation. Three riders wasted no time in jumping clear: Kongphob Thimachai (Roojai Insurance), Abdulrehman Al Yaaqubi (Omani national team) and Muhammad Mohd Shabri (Terengganu).
Gap balloons to nine minutes
None of the three escapees had featured in a breakaway since the start of the event. The peloton was happy to give these tentative attackers plenty of rope. Their advantage peaked at 9′15″ at km 35 of the 181.5-kilometre stage, the widest gap so far in the fourteenth Tour of Oman.
Lightning-fast reflexes save Mohd Shabri
The average speed was 39 km/h at the halfway point. Al Yaaqubi sat up with 90 kilometres to go, leaving just two riders out front. 7 kilometres later, as the road twisted through a maze of ochre mountains, Mohd Shabri suffered a puncture, only narrowly avoiding a crash thanks to his impressive bike-handling skills. Thimachai waited for his fellow escapee to continue the adventure as a duo, while the peloton slashed its deficit to two minutes thanks to Visma–Lease a Bike's efforts to position the big favourite, Olav Kooij, for a repeat win after stage 1.
Svestad-Bårdseng snags a second
The gap edged back out to 2′40″ at the second intermediate sprint in Ad Dasur (64 km to go), where Mohd Shabri took the top spot, just as he had done earlier in Al Alya (118 km to go). Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Arkéa–B&B Hotels), eleventh overall, won the sprint for third from the peloton, scooping up a bonus second that brought the Norwegian within 38 seconds behind the race leader, David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ), and 4 seconds from the top 8.
Kooij claims the bunch sprint
Thimachai went for broke from 50 kilometres out. Mohd Shabri, caught unawares after his companion attacked from behind, did not even attempt to follow him. The peloton gobbled up the Thai rider with 13 kilometres to go, setting up the expected sprint. Olav Kooij turned on the gas on the false flat in the final kilometre to clinch his second stage win in this edition of the Tour of Oman.
