Veistroffer dominates with solo-ride win at Stage 2

MUSCAT: Baptiste Veistroffer of Lotto–Intermarche put up a dominant solo ride in the longest stage of the Tour of Oman (191.4 km) to claim the red jersey on Sunday. The French rider attacked late from the day’s breakaway and held off a charging peloton on the uphill finish, crossing the line at Yitti Hills in a timing of 4 hours, 22 minutes and 43 seconds. Eritrea’s Mulueberhan Henok of XAT Team claimed second spot with a narrow time gap, while French cyclist Gruel Thibaud of GFC Team secured third place.
With his stage victory, Veistroffer moved into the overall lead of the Tour, claiming the red jersey, while also topping the points classification to take the green jersey with a total of 19 points. Gruel Thibaud was awarded the white jersey as the best young rider, while Polish cyclist Patryk Goszczurny of TVL Team claimed the golden jersey as the most aggressive rider.

Basil bin Ahmed al Rawas, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Sports and Youth, was the chief guest at the awards ceremony.
Speaking to the media after the podium ceremony, Veistroffer said:
“I feel I truly deserved this victory after a long time. Everyone in the team believed in me, and I believed in myself. I managed the race well and attacked at the right moment. This win is not only a personal achievement, but the result of a collective team effort.”
“The coming stages will be even tougher and it is important to stay confident and aggressive. The Muscat Classic was a good preparation but today I really enjoyed how hard the race was, especially in the final part of the stage. I like races like this,” he said.

URBAN LANDSCAPE
Stage 2 featured a challenging and scenic route highlighting Oman’s geographical diversity and urban landscapes. The stage began at Al Rustaq Fort, built in the 13th century, passing through Al Rustaq, Al Awabi and Nakhal, before heading towards Wadi Al Maawil and turning towards Al Lajal and the Bausher–Fanja Road. Riders continued through Fanja Souq and the Rusayl Industrial Area, before passing the Military Hospital traffic lights and turning towards Al Murtafaah Road and Muaskar Al Murtafaah Street.
The route then passed Bank Muscat traffic lights, turning right at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque junction in Al Ghubrah, before continuing to Al Ansab Road and descending onto the Muscat Expressway in Bausher. Cyclists then turned onto Al Jabal Street (Bausher–Al Amerat Road), passed Al Amerat Cemetery Roundabout, turned into Wadi Adai, and continued through Al Hamriyah, before concluding the stage at the demanding ascent of Yitti Heights, where Veistroffer sealed his victory.

FIRST PRO SOLO VICTORY
The Lotto–Intermarche rider had already shown his ambition by spending 151 km alone at the front during the Muscat Classic. This time, it was from a five-man breakaway, later reduced to a trio, that the young Frenchman executed a plan he had carefully prepared. The former triathlete dropped his last two companions, Patryk Goszczurny and Tim Marsman (Alpecin Premier Tech), on the penultimate steep ramp of the day to claim his first professional solo victory.
In the general classification, he leads Mulubrhan and Gruel, who contested the peloton sprint on the finish line and are respectively 25 and 27 seconds behind in the overall standings.
After the withdrawals of Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ United) and Einer Rubio (Movistar), 121 riders remained at the start, at the foot of the Al Rustaq Fort.

As Jayco-AlUla prepared the peloton for a final attack, Veistroffer read the situation and launched a solo attack in the final section of the 900-metre wall on the Hamriyah climb with an average gradient of 9.4%, dropping his two breakaway companions.
He charged on without looking back toward the Yiti Hills climb, which he tackled with a 45-second lead over the peloton.
On Monday, Stage 3 will run for 191.3 km from Samayil ‘Al Fayha Resthouse’ to Misfat al Abriyeen (Eastern Mountain).

Tour of Oman Stage 2 results
(Read as rank, rider, country, team, time)
1. Baptiste Veistroffer (FRA) – Lotto Intermarche – 04:22:43
2. Henok Mulueberhan (ERI) – XDS Astana Team – 04:23:00
3. Thibaud Gruel (FRA) – Groupama-FDJ United – 04:23:00
4. Bryan Coquard (FRA) – Cofidis – 04:23:00
5. Diego Ulissi (ITA) – XDS Astana Team – 04:23:00
6. Natnael Tesfazion (ERI) – Movistar Team – 04:23:00
7. Emilien Jeanniere (FRA) – Total Energies – 04:23:00
8. Bart Lemmen (NED) – Team Visma | Lease a Bike – 04:23:00
9. Lukas Nerurkar (UK) – EF Education – Easypost – 04:23:00
10. Roger Adria (ESP) – Movistar Team – 04:23:00