Ben Hermans went up Green Mountain on Saturday afternoon looking to hold onto the red jersey at the Tour of Oman. He came back down it with his second stage win of the week, a hefty down payment on overall victory, and a significant boost to his standing within the BMC Racing team.
It is one thing to earn an opportunity at leadership, but quite another to seize it as convincingly as Hermans did here. He insisted earlier in the week that the departure of Philippe Gilbert during the off-season has not altered his place in the BMC hierarchy this season, but the manner of his triumph in Oman suggested that the Belgian will have further chances to shine before the spring is out.
“It's a confirmation after many good placings in the last few years,” BMC directeur sportif Valerio Piva said just past the finish line. “When he has space within the team like on this occasion, he knows he needs to grab it with both hands.”
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Hermans led the race by five seconds from Rui Costa (UAE Abu Dhabi) coming into its pivotal stage, but rather than seek simply to hold onto his advantage, he adopted an aggressive stance on the stiff upper slopes of Green Mountain, where the average gradient exceeds 10 per cent. After Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data) attacked in the finale, Hermans responded in kind inside the final kilometre. Only Fabio Aru (Astana) could offer resistance, but even the 2016 Vuelta a España winner had to yield to Hermans on steepest ramps before the finish.
“I was quite confident when I saw the others for the GC, they were on the limit while I felt I could still accelerate,” Hermans said. “But when I accelerated to get Kudus, I saw Aru, and he really, really wanted that win today. He didn't give up. Even at 100 metres to go, he saw that I had won, but he was still sprinting for this win, so I had to dig really deep to get this win. I couldn't say anything for two minutes afterwards.”
Hermans inched across the finish line three seconds clear of Aru and 11 in front of Rui Costa, and thanks to the stage winner’s time bonus, he has considerable breathing room atop the general classification ahead of Sunday’s flat final leg on Matrah Corniche. His lead of 22 seconds over Rui Costa ought to be sufficient, even if memories of the puncture that cost him the 2015 Arctic Race of Norway on the final day still linger.
Ardennes
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