Crash Hits Favorites as Mauro Schmid Claims Stage Win and GC Lead in Tour of Oman
Many favorites suffered damage in the third stage of the Tour of Oman due to a large crash. Top favorite Adam Yates of UAE Emirates XRG lost 22 seconds to stage winner Mauro Schmid of Jayco AlUla, while Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) lost several minutes.
The third stage of the Tour of Oman featured a finish on Eastern Mountain (3.5 kilometers at 7.6%) and was thus the first serious test for the GC contenders. The 192-kilometer stage starting in Samail otherwise presented few serious obstacles. Action was therefore mainly expected on the final climb. The peloton, however, started the stage with one big name less: Sepp Kuss had to withdraw due to illness.
Shortly after the start, a large breakaway of eighteen riders formed. Not long after, seven riders pulled away from this large group to form the day's escape. This break consisted of Rui Oliveira from UAE Emirates XRG, Quentin Pacher from Groupama-FDJ, Jensen Plowright from Alpecin-Premier Tech, Alex Baudin from EF Education-EasyPost, Jonas Hem Hvideberg from Uno-X, Baptiste Veistroffer from Lotto-Intermarché, and Stanislaw Aniolkowski from Cofidis.
Crash in the peloton, Yates and Paret-Peintre biggest victims
The maximum advantage of the group of seven was seven minutes. In the peloton, it was UAE Emirates XRG who firmly controlled the pace. With 42 kilometers remaining, Pacher was dropped from the breakaway while the gap between the peloton and the break had been reduced to just under a minute. Nevertheless, the leaders held their ground impressively. Entering the final ten kilometers, their lead was still 45 seconds.
Then, with seven kilometers to go, disaster struck in the peloton. At a roundabout, several riders up front crashed to the ground. Yates and Paret-Peintre were among the biggest victims, forcing UAE Emirates XRG and Soudal Quick-Step to chase.
The six remaining escapees began the final climb with a lead of about 30 seconds. However, the peloton quickly closed in and caught the break roughly 2.5 kilometers from the finish. Meanwhile, Paret-Peintre saw his overall hopes go up in smoke. The Frenchman was seen at the foot of the climb pushing his bike, helplessly watching the peloton disappear out of sight.
Schmid strongest on final climb, Yates loses time
Then it was Nairo Quintana who opened the attacks for Movistar. The Colombian entered the steep final kilometer with a small advantage. The experienced climber fought hard but was eventually caught thanks to efforts from Jayco AlUla in the reduced GC contenders group including Adam Yates (UAE Emirates XRG) and Schmid.
Schmid then launched the sprint first. Scaroni closely followed the Swiss rider’s wheel but couldn’t come past him. Schmid took the stage win and also claimed the overall lead. Scaroni finished second in the same time, while Tjøtta was third at three seconds. Due to the crash, Yates could only manage twelfth place and lost 22 seconds to Schmid.
