Matteo Jorgenson clinches Tour of Oman, leading only by a second over Mauri Vansevenant

Muscat – Matteo Jorgenson of Movistar team of the United States won the Tour of Oman after keeping his rivals at bay on the climb up Jabal Akhdar. Finishing with the same time as stage winner Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step), Jorgenson managed to hang on and keep the leader’s red jersey by just one second.

A couple of days after his first professional victory, Jorgenson becomes the first American overall winner of the Tour of Oman and the youngest. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) finished third on the stage 12 seconds behind and so moved up to third overall.

Jorgenson said, “Today was about the team; they were super strong and gave me super support. At the end it was about confidence and doing my best on the climb if I could.”

He added, “It’s been a beautiful tour. Oman has treated me super well and I was happy to see the country. I hope to be back next year. I have loved Oman.”

Vansevenant was the strongest on the brutal slopes of a 5.7km ascent to take an emotional stage victory in front of his family, who came from Belgium to support him.

Vansevenant said, “For sure I am happy, but a little bit disappointed. It was all or nothing. I knew if I got a good result today, I could win the General Classification. I won the stage but didn’t win the Tour. I will come back, but for now I have to focus on the next races.”

Jorgenson also won ‘Best Young Rider’ for the second day in a row, along with the ‘Individual Time’ and ‘Individual Points’ awards. Norway’s Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Pro Cycling) claimed ‘Most Active Rider’ for the second successive day.