The 2026 Tour of Oman witnessed a thrilling stage 5 victory for Christian Scaroni, who claimed the overall win with a stunning performance on the steep slopes of Jabal al Akhdhar. But here's where it gets controversial... While Adam Yates lit up the 5.7km ascent with repeated accelerations, leaving race leader Mauro Schmid reeling, Scaroni never really seemed to be in danger of being distanced. Helped by a new teammate, the Italian held his nerve, only hitting out for glory as the line approached, and roaring past a fading Luke Plapp. And this is the part most people miss... Despite a mostly flat route before the final climb, several attacks were attempted at the start of stage 5, with the open roads heading out of Nizwa taking in lots of action on the 155.9km final day. Soudal-QuickStep, UAE Team Emirates and Jayco all contributed to the chase at different points, with the quintet's lead still at just over two minutes heading into the final 40km of racing on Wednesday. Most of the break's lead was still intact when they hit the foot of the final climb to Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) – which averages a 10.4% gradient across its 5.7 kilometres. However, Dversnes quickly proved himself to be the strongest climber, as the other four men dropped back on the steep slopes of the final ascent. UAE and Visma-Lease a Bike paced at the front for their leaders, while the Norwegian powered on solo, but his lead was reduced to just a minute with more than 4km still to ride, and he was clearly running out of steam as the peloton closed in. Adam Yates made the first big move as he bounced on the pedals into the final 3.5km, soon ending the breakaway with Dversnes caught and then rapidly spat out the back. By this point, race leader Schmid was able to hold the pace being set by the Briton, even if he was dropping back places and appearing to struggle. Yates continued to lead on the front, but he couldn't create a separation, accelerating once more past the 2km-to-go barrier, with Schmid finally cracking. Four riders stuck with Yates, though, as he tried to get away: Scaroni, Rodriguez, Plapp and Nairo Quintana (Movistar). It became clear that Yates didn't have enough road to take the GC from Scaroni, who had started just four seconds down on Schmid, and Jayco, too, had already seen their opportunity to take overall victory disappear further down the mountain. Plapp launched early to try and surprise those alongside him, getting a small gap as he approached the barriers and final run to the line, but still Yates tried again to close him down. Using the British racer as a lead-out, Scaroni hit out for the stage and powered away to the line, confirming the GC victory ahead of his teammate Rodriguez, who finished second. Results powered by FirstCycling. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few. You must confirm your public display name before commenting. Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
