Emirates Team rider Diego Ulisi claimed his first win of the season with a stellar performance on the penultimate stage of the Tour of Oman from Izki to Mount Iti (204.9km).
An attack by Pascal Ackermann with 8km to go caught the climbers by surprise and forced the rest of the team to come after them.
Ulissi had teammates Formolo and Laengen to assist him as the kilometer approached the bottom of the final kick at -2km. As the road flattened, Ulissi used his speed to round Axel Singer (Kofidis) perfectly for his first win of 2023.
first win
Ulisi said: “I am happy with my first win of the season. It was a difficult stage. Akermann attacked with 8 kilometers to go, and on the final Lahngen climb and Vollmo Lowe made the dash perfectly. Ackerman’s offense softened the group up nicely and we had a great win. As a team, we’re off to a great start to the season.”
The win puts Ulissi second in the GC and also ahead in the standings, just 5 inches behind Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) heading into the final stage 5 from Samail to Jabal Al Akhdhar (152.2km).
Tour of Oman Stage 4 Results
1. Diego Ulissi (Emirates) 4:36:48
2. Axel Zingle (Cofidis) st
3. Ed Schilling (Bora-Hansgrohe) Street
Oman General Tourism Classification
1. Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) 16:02:36
2. Diego Ulissi (Emirates) +5”
3. Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-Quickstep) st