Alexey Lutsenko makes it two in a row at the Tour of Oman

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) claimed his second consecutive stage at the Tour of Oman and took the overall lead after the third stage.

The Kazakh champion attacked his remaining rivals on the final climb of today’s 192.5km stage to Qirayyat, holding off a charging Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) and Greg Van Avermaet (CCC).

Lutsenko leads the same two riders in the general classification, as he holds an 18-second edge over Herrada and a 20-second lead over Van Avermaet.

“Today I really have to thank my teammates for all their hard work, all the time they kept me out of trouble during the echelons and they put me in the perfect position at the start of the final climb,” he explained. “The final 50 km it turned out to be hard and hectic, but I’m thrilled I managed to win another time.

“I’m feeling very strong after the training camp on Tenerife with the team, so I want to thank all my trainers that pushed me during this camp. It’s a great period for our team, with so many great results in a short time, I’m proud to ride for this team and want to thank all of our sponsors for making this possible. Of course, I hope I can win the overall race again, but there are still many hard days to come.”

✌️@AlexeyLutsenko3 makes it two in a row in @tourofoman: 8 wins in 8 days for #AstanaProTeam!? #TOO2019 pic.twitter.com/76NrPB8JlX

— Astana Pro Team (@AstanaTeam) February 18, 2019

Tour of Oman 2019 – stage 3 results (Royal Cavalry Oman – Al Bustan):

Tour of Oman 2019 – general classification after stage 3: