Without its strongest cards for the general classification, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team tried to make its mark in a different way on Monday, as the first summit finish of the Tour of Oman was on the menu. In this third stage, Quentin Pacher joined the day’s breakaway before being reeled back in the final hour of racing. At the top of Eastern Mountain, Rémy Rochas took 25th place.
Already down to six riders after the withdrawal of Brieuc Rolland on Sunday morning, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team set off, as expected, with only five men on Monday for the first decisive stage of the Tour of Oman. After suffering a heavy crash towards Yitti Hills twenty-four hours earlier, Josh Kench couldn’t start due to a broken rib. As a result, the French squad had to change its approach. “There was a possibility that a strong breakaway could go far today, so we focused on that goal while trying not to get caught out at the start,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “The guys did that very well, because there were a lot of attacks right from the beginning, twenty-three riders got away and we had Thibaud and Quentin there. A bit later, seven riders came out of that breakaway, with Quentin.” At the front, the French puncheur was joined by Alex Baudin, Rui Oliveira, Jensen Plowright, and also the previous day’s winner and overall leader, Baptiste Veistroffer.
Their lead almost reached four minutes at one point but was halved as they entered the final fifty kilometres. Shortly afterwards, Quentin Pacher was forced to drop back. “They didn’t hold anything back at the front, it was full gas,” said Thierry. “Towards the end, Quentin was a bit cooked. Still, it’s a day that will be useful for him going forward.” The last members of the breakaway managed to hold off the peloton until the first slopes of the final climb of Eastern Mountain (3.4 km at 8%). “As expected, it came down to that last climb for the general classification,” Thierry added. “The goal was for Rémy and Thibaud to ride the climb properly to test themselves and put in some effort. Before that, there were several crashes in the final because of the road conditions. The guys got through them but were caught behind the splits and came back just before the climb. Rémy hung on at the foot, but he didn’t have the legs to compete with the very best.” The French climber reached the finish line just over a minute behind the winner, Mauro Schmid. On Tuesday, the peloton will return to completely flat terrain for the second bunch sprint of the race.
