Ferrand-Prévot unable to compete on Jebel Hafeet in Tour of Oman: "If you think about it, it makes sense"

The French rider was dropped with six kilometers to go and eventually finished 18th, 3:39 behind Longo Borghini—just two places ahead of Lorena Wiebes. Not an ideal start, but Visma | Lease a Bike isn’t worried at this point.

"Of course, it’s unfortunate that Pauline couldn’t achieve a top result, but if you think about it, it makes sense," said sports director Jos van Emden via the team's channels. "Over the past few days, she’s done great work for the team and has looked strong multiple times. Even today, she was riding at the front for a long time."

"It’s disappointing that things didn’t go as hoped on the final climb, but we shouldn’t expect too much either—it’s only her first race," added the former pro rider, already looking ahead to the final stage in the desert. "We have two fast riders here, so tomorrow is another opportunity. We’ll see how everyone has recovered and then make a plan. In the first stage, we already sprinted to third place with Nienke Veenhoven, and we hope to fight for another strong result tomorrow."

Winner Elisa Longo Borghini was in an entirely different mood after her dominant victory on Jebel Hafeet. "We can call this a real masterpiece by UAE Team ADQ," she said in her post-race flash interview. "We had clear ambitions—to win this stage and take the red jersey."

"At one point, Silvia Persico and I got caught in the echelons, but Elynor Bäckstedt brought us back. After that, the team completely sacrificed themselves to put us in a good position for the climb. Silvia (who eventually finished second) then set a steady pace," explained the Italian, who joined the Emirati team this winter after moving from Lidl-Trek.

"I felt really comfortable on the climb, and when I sensed the right moment, I went all in with my attack," she continued. "I really wanted this win. It’s the team’s first victory in our home race, and my family lost a friend a few weeks ago, so this win is for him. We want to finish the job now, so we’re expecting another great day on Sunday."