Astana's Scaroni storms into GC contention at Tour of Oman
The third stage of the Tour of Oman, featuring the climb to Eastern Mountain, ended with a powerful sprint from a small group of leaders, Qazinform News Agency cites XDS Astana Team's press service.
Christian Scaroni responded to the final acceleration by Swiss champion Mauro Schmid but was unable to overtake him at the finish, taking 2nd place.
Two other XDS Astana Team riders, Cristián Rodríguez and Diego Ulissi, finished in 7th and 10th positions, respectively.
Thanks to today’s result, Christian Scaroni moved up to second place in the General Classification.
“Today’s stage was quite calm, apart from a crash at a roundabout shortly before the finish. Fortunately, Diego Ulissi and I managed to avoid the crash, although we still had to chase back to the group. The final climb suited me well, and Diego put me in a very good position for the finale. Schmid started his sprint from far out; I managed to respond and thought I could come out of his wheel at the end, but he was able to hold his pace all the way to the line. Today, Mauro was stronger. Still, the overall outcome of the stage is positive: I’m now second in the General Classification, so we’ll focus on the final day on Wednesday,” said Christian Scaroni.
Earlier, an XDS Astana rider came close to victory at the Tour of Oman.
