Impressive Schmid powers to victory and takes control of Tour of Oman

Already winner of the Muscat Classic last week, Schmid underlined that form with an assured display on Eastern Mountain after his Jayco-AlUla team whittled down the front group as the gradient bit.

Schmid launched his sprint early and he held off Scaroni to take the win, with Tjøtta third at three seconds. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who is chasing a third overall victory in Oman, had to settle for 12th, 22 seconds back.

Stage 3, which followed 191.3km route from Samail to Eastern Mountain, shaped up as the first real test for the general classification. After a steady approach, the gradient kicks in, with the last climb rising for 3.4km at an average of 8%.

An early break formed after several attacks and grew into a strong group featuring GC leader and stage 2 winner Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché), Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Jonas Hem Hvideberg (Uno-X Mobility).

Tudor Pro Cycling Team set the early tempo in the peloton, later joined by Soudal Quick-Step, as the bunch kept the gap on a tight leash. In the final phase the advantage began to collapse, the peloton stretched and briefly split, and dropped riders and repeated attacks signalled the race turning volatile. With the gap under a minute and the bunch reorganising at speed, the stage was poised for a late selection rather than another breakaway success.

With 7km to go, a crash at a roundabout near the front split the peloton, with Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Uno-X Mobility among the teams worst affected and forced into a chase. The breakaway reached the base of the final climb with around thirty seconds, but they were caught at roughly two and a half kilometres from the line.

Movistar’s Nairo Quintana then ignited the finale, slipping into the steep last kilometre with a small gap before being reeled in as Jayco AlUla drove the pace for Mauro Schmid in a reduced favourites group that included GC favourite Adam Yates.

Schmid would take the spoils and he leads Scaroni by four seconds in the overall standings, with Tjøtta third at nine seconds, while Yates is 32 seconds back in 12th.

On Tuesday, the riders will face a transitional 146.8km stage that suits the fast men, before the Tour of Oman is decided on Wednesday in the stage to Jabal al Akhdhar, with the Green Mountain climb expected to be decisive for the general classification.