Alexey Lutsenko still has one stage to race but the Astana rider has all but sealed overall victory at the Tour of Oman. The 25-year-old finished second on the race’s queen stage to Green Mountain, after a dominant performance from Astana that saw his teammate Miguel Angel Lopez win the stage.
Lutsenko had started the day in second place at just nine seconds back, but had not been one of the pre-stage favourites to take the overall title with Lopez and Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) only a few seconds back. In a performance perhaps reminiscent of the 2015 Giro d’Italia, the Kazakh team put on a show of force to dwindle the peloton’s ranks in one fell swoop on the final climb. Lutsenko impressed on the steep climb, finishing with Lopez.
“I am really happy because everything went okay but the main thing is that the team was really strong,” Lutsenko said after collecting his red jersey.
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“We knew that only this stage would decide the general classification so we were really motivated and the team was ready. We controlled the race from the start and the guys worked really hard.
“We still have three riders in front with two kilometres to go. It was also our plan to win the stage. In the last section I was alone with Miguel Angel Lopez and we did our best to get some time from our rivals and take this stage.”
Lopez was a key component in helping Lutsenko to the line on a scorching day in the mountains, pacing him up to the top of the climb. The pair broke clear with around three kilometres to go, taking Izagirre and teammate Jan Hirt with them, despite an earlier crash from the Czech rider. Another dig was enough to see off the rest of their competition and, despite a late resurgence from Izagirre, they were not to be seen again by the chasers.
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