CAPIOT SPRINTS TO GLORY
Belgian rider takes an emotional win in Tour of Oman stage 4
Muscat – Amaury Capiot of Arkea-b&b Hotels team recorded an emotional victory as he clinched the fourth stage of the Tour of Oman 2024 on Tuesday. The Belgian sprinter clocked 2 hours 17 minutes and 35 seconds to win the stage that started in Fanja instead of Al Rustaq Fort due to the inclement weather conditions in the country and the stage finished at Yitti Hilla. Dutch rider Ide Schelling from Astana Kazakhstan team finished adrift of the stage winner while Italian rider Davide De Pretto of team Jayco Alula completed the race in third place.
Capiot came in third place in the Muscat Classic race on Friday but he managed to produce an excellent performance to be crowned the winner on Tuesday.
“I am really happy with this victory following the hard stage. The team made a great effort to end as champion. This is indeed my first triumph after six races this season and this achievement
means a lot for me as it is the first podium for me this year,” Capiot said. “I took part in three European races besides the Tour of Oman. I am looking for more accomplishments in the forthcoming participations. Today’s stage was shorter than I expected. It
was hard in the last 25 km and as a team, we implemented a good strategy to stay together until the last 2 to 3 km which was for me to stay in a good position for a better sprint,” he added.
The battle for the general classification remains extremely
disputed, with Finn Fisher-black (UAE Team Emirates) making the most of time bonuses through the stage to claim back the red jersey ahead of Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-step) on the eve of the final stage, set to decide the overall winner on the slopes of Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) which will take place on Wednesday.
The peloton rolls from Fanja early morning on Tuesday for a distance of 104 km ending in Yitti Hills with a punchy route that inspires attackers. Blake Quick (Team Jayco Alla), Rasmus Bogh Wallin (Uno-x Mobility) and Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team Ukyo) were the first riders to set off. Many riders worked hard to join them unsuccessfully. After it stayed around 15 sec, the gap reached one minute after 20km.
On the day after Paul Magnier and Luke Lamperti took the race over in Al Bustan, Soudal QuickStep set the pace. The attackers’ lead is controlled at around 2 minutes. Burgos-bh up the ante on the first ascent of the day, the mighty climb of Al Jabal Road (Bousher al Amerat), with 3.3km at 9.8 per cent. The gap was down to 5 sec as Wallin went first over the top. Lots of riders were dropped from the bunch including the green jersey owner Magnier and the golden jersey Oscar Pelegri (Burgos-bh). The Spanish rider Oscar managed to earn the golden jersey for the fourth successive time.
HE Eng Khamis Mohammed Al Shammakhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Transport, the chief guest handed over the awards to the top winners in Yitti Hills in the presence of Saif bin Sebaa al Rushaidi, Chairman of Oman Cycling Association, and officials.