Fernando Gaviria wins Tour of Oman final stage, Jan Hirt seals overall victory

Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) took victory on the final stage of the Tour of Oman as Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) sealed the overall classification.

Gaviria surged up the center of the road in the final bunch sprint, beating young Australian Kaden Groves (BikeExchange-Jayco) to the line. It is Gaviria’s second win of the season after a claimed the opening stage of the six-day race.

Meanwhile, pre-stage favorite Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) found himself blocked in by Gaviria’s leadout man Maximiliano Richeze. The Manxman remonstrated with the Argentinian and thumped his hands on his handlebars in frustration.

“I’m really happy to win the last stage of the Tour of Oman. It has been a nice week for me and I’m really happy because my team worked really good today,” Gaviria said. “They stayed really focused on trying to win the stage. From the beginning, the team tried to take control of the race all day and then, in the last part, they put me in a really good position.”

Race leader Hirt held off a late attack from second place Fausto Masnada in the final three kilometers of the race and finished safely inside the bunch to secure the overall win. The Czech rider took over the leader’s jersey Monday with a stinging attack on Green Mountain.

Hirt takes the overall win one minute ahead of Masnada with Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) slotting in for third.

👊Winner of the first and last stages👊

The 🇨🇴Misil @FndoGaviria 👏#TourofOman @TeamEmiratesUAE pic.twitter.com/03LOEBDdxE

— Tour of Oman (@tourofoman) February 15, 2022

After the chaos of crosswinds, splits, and crashes, the final stage of the Tour of Oman from Al Mouj Muscat to Matrah Corniche was a much more simplistic affair.

Hirt had a comfortable lead in the overall classification for the last day thanks to his solo effort on Green Mountain on Monday. Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert would still have to keep their leader safe to finish the job off.

The team had plenty of help from the sprint squads, particularly Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, in managing the stage. Cavendish had been stripped of his green jersey after he was penalized nine points in the competition for pushing off race vehicles after he crashed Monday, but he was still eager on taking a second stage win.

A group of four riders went clear early on with Johan Means (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB), Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Victor Langellotti (Burgos BH), and Martín Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) making it into the move.

Your overall winner of the #TourofOman 2022

🇨🇿@HirtJan 🏆 pic.twitter.com/GUyM9Z7xRh

— Tour of Oman (@tourofoman) February 15, 2022

The group was only allowed a small advantage over the peloton and was reeled in with 30 kilometers still to go. The early catch meant there was a flurry of attacks off the front of the bunch as those who would not be mixing it in the sprint sought to steal a surprise final-day win.

Second place Masnada was one of those to try and make the most of the twisting final, launching a move with an Arkéa-Samsic rider on a short rise with three kilometers to go. It didn’t last long for the Italian, as Hirt shut it down, but it was worth the try.

In the end, it was going to come down to the sprint battle with Gaviria launching his drive for the line around the final corner with Groves hot in his tail. Cavendish held back a little longer but found his line blocked by Richeze when he tried to move up on the barriers.

Tour of Oman stage 5 results

1. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) 04:10:16
2. Kaden Groves (BikeExchange-Jayco) s.t.
3. Amaury Capiot (Arkéa-Samsic) s.t

Tour of Oman final GC

1. Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) 22:35:43
2. Fausto Masnada (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) + 1:00
3. Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) + 1:16