The Tour of Oman came to a close this Wednesday at the summit of Green Mountain, the race’s traditional decisive climb. Rémy Rochas crossed the finish line two minutes behind stage and overall winner Christian Scaroni, and therefore had to settle for 26th place in the final general classification. A disappointing outcome for Groupama-FDJ United, whose initial ambitions were undermined by illness and crashes at the start of the event.
On paper, the final stage of the Tour of Oman looked quite easy to read. After 150 relatively flat kilometres, everything was expected to be decided on the demanding climb of Green Mountain (6 kilometres at 10%), the very ascent David Gaudu tackled in the leader’s jersey just a year ago. This Wednesday, Thibaud Gruel tried to take advantage of the first part of the race to make his mark. “There was quite a fight at the start, a small breakaway group formed, and he was part of it, but they were eventually brought back. Then a group of five riders went clear,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “After that, it was full gas all the way to the bottom of the final climb. There were no surprises.” From the very first slopes, the pace proved extremely intense, Rémy Rochas held on for a few minutes before having to take his own rhythm. “Rémy had been ill shortly before Oman,” Thierry explained. “He was feeling better when he arrived here, but we knew he was lacking condition. He focused on doing a solid climb to build towards what’s next, like he did two days ago, but we were aware we couldn’t expect much from this day. There are no miracles. You don’t regain top form in just a few days.”
“We didn’t come here for that,” – Thierry Bricaud
Thirty-third on the stage, just over two minutes behind Christian Scaroni — who also claimed the GC — the French climber slipped five places in the general classification and finished 26th overall. “If we look at the results, it’s obviously disappointing and that’s not what we came for,” Thierry said. “However, when you look closer, we faced particular circumstances. Rémy was ill shortly before Oman and wasn’t at 100%, Rudy fell ill on the eve of the Muscat Classic, and we then had Brieuc abandon through illness and Josh due to a crash. That’s a lot. Without them, we knew the overall classification would become complicated. So, we focused on finishing well and putting in the work for what’s ahead. We should still highlight Thibaud’s excellent form. He claimed a fine third place and showed that he is solid and ready for the start of the season. He leaves with confidence. The same goes for Baptiste, who is going very well and will return to racing with the Conti team. Those are the positive takeaways from the week. We know cycling can easily go one way or the other, and you have to deal with less favorable circumstances.”
