Astana make huge impression as Scaroni tears up Tour of Oman finale, leaving Yates, UAE and Jayco AlUla empty-handed
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Follow us on GoogleChristian Scaroni won the fifth and final stage of the Tour of Oman. The stage race, marked in recent days by illness, crashes and some terrific racing, was decided on the steep slopes of Green Mountain. XDS Astana made a real statement: Scaroni took both the stage and the overall victory, while teammate Cristián Rodríguez finished second on the day — and second overall as well.
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For the first four days of the Tour of Oman, it was twice one for the sprinters, there was a day for attacker Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto–Intermarché), and Mauro Schmid won a punchy finale after also taking Oman’s appetiser, the Muscat Classic. All of that stood in sharp contrast to the brutally steep Green Mountain: 5.7 kilometres at an average of 10.4%, a serious test to decide the race.
The opening phase of the 156-kilometre stage was for sprinters and attackers, who still had the points jersey to fight for. Veistroffer was wearing it, but Juan Sebastián Molano (winner of stage 1) and Erlend Blikra (winner of stage 4) also made the six-man break on behalf of UAE Team Emirates–XRG and Uno-X Mobility.
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New breakaway reaches the foot of Green Mountain
That set things up for a proper battle for the points, with Veistroffer defending a small lead on 26 points over Molano (24) and Blikra (22). Unfortunately, the six were hauled back before the intermediate sprint. A new group of five then went clear: Johan Price-Pejtersen, Vincenzo Albanese, Florian Dauphin, Fredrik Dversnes Lavik and Jonas Hem Hvideberg.
The five reached the foot of Green Mountain, but the peloton never let them go far. Even when Dversnes pushed on alone, the focus quickly shifted to the GC riders fighting for both the stage and the overall. Valentin Paret-Peintre (last year’s winner on Green Mountain) and race leader Schmid were dropped early.
Adam Yates kept the pace high, but the Brit could not shake his closest rivals. Luke Plapp then looked set to win with a late move for Jayco AlUla, but XDS Astana showed just how good they are right now: Scaroni stormed past him to complete the double — stage win and overall victory. Teammate Rodríguez made it an even bigger day for Astana.
Results stage 5 Tour of Oman 2026
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026
