Tour of Oman 2026 | Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE’s ‘sherpas’ take up the challenge
CyclingThursday, 05 February 2026 at 20:44
After the AlUla Tour, the second stage race in the Middle East this season is on the menu in the coming days. The Tour of Oman has long been a popular stop for the biggest teams in the peloton, and 2026 is no different. Eleven WorldTour squads are lining up, so IDLProcycling.com takes a closer look at what to expect.
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The Tour of Oman has been held since 2010 and boasts a strong palmarès. Fabian Cancellara was the first overall winner, while Robert Gesink took the title one year later. Grand Tour winners Chris Froome (twice) and Vincenzo Nibali have also triumphed in Oman.
Adam Yates won in both 2024 and 2025 and is back again. The Brit has travelled over from Australia after playing a key role in teammate Jay Vine’s overall success at the Tour Down Under in January.
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Latest winners Tour of Oman
2025 Adam Yates
2024 Adam Yates
2023 Matteo Jorgenson
2022 Jan Hirt
2021 Not competed
2020 Not competed
2019 Alexey Lutsenko
2018 Alexey Lutsenko
2017 Ben Hermans
2016 Vincenzo Nibali
2024 Adam Yates
2023 Matteo Jorgenson
2022 Jan Hirt
2020 Not competed
2019 Alexey Lutsenko
2018 Alexey Lutsenko
2017 Ben Hermans
2016 Vincenzo Nibali
Tour of Oman 2026: Course, times and favorites stage wins
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Stage 1, Saturday, Feb. 7: Muscat -Bimmah Sink Hole (170.9 km)
The Tour of Oman starts on Saturday in Muscat, with the Muscat Classic (created last year) taking place the day before. Aside from a steep ramp right in the opening phase, it’s primarily a flat stage — meaning the sprinters on the start list will need to be sharp from day one.
Favorites
Steffen De Schuyteneer (Lotto-Intermarché)
Erlend Blikra (Uno-X)
Gerben Thijssen (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
Steffen De Schuyteneer (Lotto-Intermarché)
Erlend Blikra (Uno-X)
Gerben Thijssen (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
Times (CET)
Start: 07.35 AM
Finish: 12:05 PM
Start: 07.35 AM
Finish: 12:05 PM
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Stage 2, Sunday, Feb. 8: Al Rustaq Fort - Yitti Hills (191.4 km)
Stage 2 is identical to last year’s route, when Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step) surprised everyone by winning from the break. Normally, though, this is one for the puncheurs: after a series of short, steep rises, the finish in Yitti Hills comes on a climb of 1.6 kilometres at 6.8%.
Favorites
Roger Adria (Movistar)
Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana)
Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost)
Roger Adria (Movistar)
Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana)
Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost)
Times (CET)
Start: 07.35 AM
Finish: 12:35 PM
Start: 07.35 AM
Finish: 12:35 PM
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Stage 3, Monday, Feb. 9: Samal - Eastern Mountain (191.3 km)
Stage 3 heads for Eastern Mountain, a finish the race has used before — including in 2023 and 2025. In 2023, Matteo Jorgenson won on the climb, which is 3.4 kilometres at 8%. Last year, it was David Gaudu who proved quickest on the steep final kilometre, so it makes sense to look to the climbers again for the day’s main contenders.
Favorites
Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step)
Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana)
Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step)
Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana)
Times (CET)
Start: 07.10 AM
Finish: 11:50 AM
Start: 07.10 AM
Finish: 11:50 AM
Stage 4, Tuesday, Feb. 10: Al Sawadi Beach - Sohar (146.8 km)
Stage 4 is as flat as it gets, which should bring the sprinters back into play in Oman. The route never climbs above 13 metres above sea level, but desert racing always carries the risk of crosswinds — and with them, potential echelons.
Favorites
Emilien Jeanniere (TotalEnergies)
Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural)
Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Emilien Jeanniere (TotalEnergies)
Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural)
Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Times (CET)
Start:08.10 AM
Finish:11.50 AM
Start:08.10 AM
Finish:11.50 AM
Stage 5, Wednesday, Feb. 11: Izwa - Jabal al Akhdhar (155.9 km)
The final day features the climb that has shaped the Tour of Oman for years: Green Mountain (Jabal al Akhdhar). With 5.7 kilometres at an average of 10.4%, there is nowhere left to hide when the overall contenders hit the decisive slopes.
Times (CET)
Start: 07.15 AM
Finish: 11:00 AM
Start: 07.15 AM
Finish: 11:00 AM
Favorites final classification Tour of Oman 2026
The Tour of Oman will go ahead without Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma | Lease a Bike still arrive with strong replacements in Adam Yates and Sepp Kuss. Yates has won the last two editions, so labelling him the top favourite — with Pablo Torres as a key support rider — makes perfect sense. For Visma, Kuss is set to get his chance alongside Bart Lemmen and Tijmen Graat.
XDS Astana may well bring the deepest squad overall: Lorenzo Fortunato, Christian Scaroni, Cristian Rodríguez, Diego Ulissi, Henok Mulubrhan, Harold Martín López and Alberto Bettiol are all on the start list. Soudal Quick-Step also has multiple cards to play, including French fan favourite Valentin Paret-Peintre and Belgian climber Junior Lecerf.
Continue reading below the photo!
Valentin Paret-Peintre: one of the top favorites.
Movistar sends the Colombian duo Einer Rubio and Nairo Quintana, while Q36.5 (listed as “Pinarello Q36.5” on the Dutch startlist) relies on Australians Damien Howson and Chris Harper. Jayco AlUla lines up with Paul Double, Finlay Pickering and Luke Plapp. EF Education–EasyPost has Alex Baudin and Jefferson Cepeda, and Groupama-FDJ brings Quentin Pacher, Brieuc Rolland and Rémy Rochas.
Further down the startlist, you will also find Geoffrey Bouchard (TotalEnergies), Martin Tjøtta (Uno-X), Jesús Herrada (Burgos-BH), Will Barta (Tudor) and Juan (spelled “Jan” in the Dutch text) Castellón (Caja Rural).
Top favorites: Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step)
Outsiders: Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lorenzo Fortunato, Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) and Einer Rubio (Movistar)
Long shots: Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike), Damien Howson, Chris Harper (Pinarello - Q36.5), Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step), Cristian Rodriguez, Harold Martin Lopez (XDS-Astana), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Paul Double (Jayco AlUla)
Outsiders: Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lorenzo Fortunato, Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) and Einer Rubio (Movistar)
Long shots: Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike), Damien Howson, Chris Harper (Pinarello - Q36.5), Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step), Cristian Rodriguez, Harold Martin Lopez (XDS-Astana), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Paul Double (Jayco AlUla)
Participants Tour of Oman 2026
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
TV coverage Tour of Oman 2026
Unfortunately, the Tour of Oman cannot be followed live on TV. IDLProcycling.com will provide daily reports, news and reactions. In recent years there has been a YouTube stream — if that returns, we will share it.
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Latest Comments
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
- 👍Bea08-10-2025
- 👌🏻Bea08-10-2025
- What the data doesn't show is how much of an effect drafting had for evenepoel. Pogacar went with del toro at 100km whilst Evenepoel was still in the bunch. Despite the bike changes he still had a lot of assistance getting back to the bunch. Pogacar then rode 60km solo whilst evenepoel rode with Healy/Skjelmose until going solo in thd last 10-15km. Thats ~20% less power / energy requirements for 45-50km. Apples and oranges...kevpt30-09-2025
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