At the Tour of Oman, Adam Yates was the man to beat and as expected, he won the overall classification for the second consecutive time. Everything was decided in the final stage with a finish at Green Mountain, where the British athlete finished in second place behind Valentin Paret Peintre by just a few seconds. Only a slight disappointment for Yates, who confirmed he is in excellent form.

"It was an extremely hot day and we maintained a high pace throughout the race. I admit that I would have liked to do more, to manage to grab the victory, but unfortunately it didn't happen," Yates explains just before the awards ceremony. "This is my first stage race of the season, and starting with a success motivates me a lot for upcoming events. My form is not yet perfect, but there's still plenty of time to improve. Paret Peintre was the strongest, he's a young guy with great potential. I tried to drop him throughout the climb, but he always stayed close. Perhaps there's a bit of regret, but it was still an excellent day."

Throughout the day, UAE Team Emirates did an outstanding job, first sending Giaimi in the 17-rider breakaway and then imposing a deadly pace on the Green Mountain slopes. "From the start of the Tour of Oman, we knew the final stage would be the queen stage. The third stage was tough too, but Green Mountain suited my characteristics better," Yates continues. "We worked all day, putting the pieces together. One of our guys went away from the start to keep the situation under control. As we approached the climb, we increased the pace in the group. Jay Vine was phenomenal because as soon as the climb started, he thinned out the peloton. We aimed to give everything right away and play our cards. Too bad I couldn't win, but I'm still happy and satisfied with these days in Oman. They are an excellent start to this season."

The overall victory at the Tour of Oman is an important signal that Yates sends to all his direct rivals for the Giro d'Italia, which represents his major seasonal goal. The first, David Goudu, came out defeated from this first direct confrontation, but there's still time. There are many more races before May. And as they say, "He who starts well..."