Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease A Bike) sped to his second stage win of the week on the 2025 Tour of Oman, beating Giacomo Nizzolo (Q36.5) to the end line on stage 4 on the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center.
Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) launched the dash on the uphill drag to the end line, nevertheless it was Kooij who was in prime place on the Norwegian rider’s wheel. The Dutchman launched out into the wind within the closing 200 metres and charged previous.
Behind Kooij, Nizzolo was within the subsequent finest place to problem, however he didn’t have the time or the pace to rise up to the 23-year-old, and so he needed to accept second place. Orluis Aular (Movistar) rounded out the rostrum forward of Blikra in fourth, whereas Max Kanter (XDS Astana) took fifth place.
“It was good for me. We might management the end with the workforce, and so they helped me very nicely,” Kooij stated after the stage.
“After coming from the winter in Europe, it takes a while to get used to [racing], however the emotions are good.”
“We knew the final kilometre could be vital to get in a superb place. I might then observe the best wheels to start out my dash at precisely the best second.”
Stage 4 was a largely flat one with no categorized climbs and 607 metres of elevation unfold throughout its 181.5km. As a end result, solely three riders ventured out into the breakaway.
Abdulrahman Alyaqoobi (Oman National Team), Kongphob Thimachai (Roojai Insurance), and Muhammad Mohd Shabri (Terengganu) had been the lads in query, with the peloton completely happy to depart the trio to trip nicely up the street.
The break led the way in which throughout the day’s two intermediate sprints, at one level main by a margin of over 9 minutes, although on the second dash in Ad Dasur, 64km from the end, Alyaqoobi had already been displaced from the transfer and caught by the peloton.
At 45km to go, Mohd Shabri was again with the primary group, leaving Thimachai out on his personal two minutes up the street. Behind him, sprinter’s groups together with Picnic-PostNL and Visma-Lease A Bike led the peloton forward of the anticipated bunch end.
Thimachai battled on alone into the ultimate 20km of the stage, hanging on to an ever-decreasing hole earlier than lastly being introduced again at 13km to go. From there, it was all as much as the dash squads.
Soudal-QuickStep and UAE Team Emirates-XRG joined the fray on the entrance, whereas Groupama-FDJ and Uno-X Mobility additionally had spells on the head of the race within the closing
5 kilometres. It was Uno-X and Visma who led the way in which into the uphill closing kilometre of the stage, nevertheless.
Uno-X managed the run-in with Stian Fredheim main out Blikra for the sprint to the end line, although it was Kooij who had the sooner end from Blikra’s wheel.
After taking the victory on Monday’s stage 3 up Eastern Mountain, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) retains the general race lead, six seconds up on Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The Tour of Oman concludes with a 138.5km race-deciding stage to Green Mountain on Wednesday.