Before the start: Fourth overall, youth classification leader...
Valentin Paret-Peintre, leader in the youth classification ahead of the queen stage - climbed with ease at all times on steep 5.7km ascent 10.5% gradient, and with two kilometers to go he found himself with two riders on GC and made his decision to make his move. With a final kilometer to go, the red jersey leader was dropped, leaving Paret-Peintre and Yates in the lead. The Frenchman waited for the last 150 meters to punch clear to his maiden win as a member of Soudal-Quickstep team. Gaudu finished 45 seconds down, Yates pulled on the final red leader’s jersey, finishing the Tour of Oman six seconds ahead of Paret-Peintre.
"Winning atop of this climb, where some big riders won in the past, means a lot to me. I had a lot of confidence going into the stage and knew that I could be in the mix for victory. I also tried to go for the GC win, but that turned out to be difficult, so instead I decided to wait for the final meters to go full gas. I'm happy that I could win against some really good climbers."
-Valentin Paret-Peintre
Afterwards: Second overall, stage 5 winner, youth classification winner.
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