Schmid goes to new heights
February 9 th 2026 - 11:17 [GMT 0]
The third stage of the Tour of Oman was marked by numerous early attacks, largely initiated by red jersey Baptiste Veistroffer, who once again found himself in the breakaway as part of a seven-rider group. This move was eventually neutralised by the peloton, with the top climbers battling it out on the final 3.8-kilometre ascent on the slopes of Eastern Mountain in Misfat Al Abriyeen. At the end of the climb—approached in less-than-ideal conditions by Valentin Paret-Peintre and Adam Yates after crashes at 8 km and 6 km from the finish respectively—it was Mauro Schmid who claimed the stage victory and took over the lead of the general classification. The Swiss champion, who had already made his mark last Friday by winning the Muscat Classic, is now stepping up to a new level and positioning himself as a credible contender for overall victory.
The red jersey in the breakaway
Following the withdrawals of Marcos Freire (UAE Emirates XRG), Sepp Kuss (Visma–Lease a Bike), Joshua Kench (Groupama-FDJ United) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana), the peloton set off on stage 3 of the Tour of Oman with 115 riders. From the very first kilometre, Baptiste Veistroffer proved as aggressive as he has been since arriving in the Sultanate, launching several attacks. The prospect of seeing the red jersey in the breakaway prompted immediate reactions to each of his moves. At kilometre 10, a large group of 23 riders formed around the “Sanglier” of Lotto-Intermarché and pulled 50 seconds clear. Among them, five riders broke away at km 23: Rui Oliveira (UAE Emirates XRG), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ United), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Jonas Hvideberg (Uno-X) and Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché). They were joined at km 28 by Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis).
Seven riders out front
While their former companions were reeled back in by the peloton, the seven riders in the break gained ground and reached the intermediate sprint at Al Aya (km 71.6) with a 3’15’’ advantage. They were kept at arm’s length by riders from Soudal-Quick Step and XDS Astana, who controlled the pace at the front of the peloton. The chase intensified upon entering the final 50 kilometres, with the attackers’ lead down to 2’05’’. Aware of the need to defend their chances, the breakaway riders increased the tempo and lost Quentin Pacher at km 149, leaving them with a 1’45’’ cushion.
Crashes for Paret-Peintre and Yates
Despite their efforts and good cooperation among the six remaining riders, the heat and accumulated distance began to take their toll. The situation worsened with 10 km to go, as their advantage shrank to 45 seconds. The finale was disrupted by two crashes: the first brought down Valentin Paret-Peintre at 8 km from the finish, while the second involved Adam Yates. The top two from the 2025 edition both managed to rejoin the peloton, which swept up the attackers on the final climb, 2 kilometres from the line. Around twenty contenders remained in a reduced group of the race’s best climbers. Nairo Quintana launched the first attack, but the Colombian was caught in the final kilometre, where rider number 1 made his move. In the closing hectometres, the duel came down to Mauro Schmid and Christian Scaroni, with the Swiss champion emerging on top.
