Tour of Oman: Matteo Jorgenson comes close to success on Qurayyat hilltop finish
This article originally appeared on Velo News
QURAYYAT, Oman (VN) -- Matteo Jorgenson's (Movistar) search for a first professional victory got off to a strong start, but the American fell just shy of the top spot on the uphill finish into Qurayya on stage 2 of the Tour of Oman.
Jorgenson finished fourth, just behind stage-winner Jesus Herrada, who beat Maxim van Gils to score his first win of the season and take the race lead.
The North American star Jorgenson was one of just four riders that were able to hang onto the coattails of Herrada as he blasted to the line.
With the road leveling out over the final few hundred meters, Jorgensen knew that he was going to struggle against the faster finishers in the pack. He had been hoping to shed a few of them before the finale, but the pace was not high enough to shake them off his tail.
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"I was hoping to win, but in the end, the stage was pretty easy. We went super easy all day and it just wasn't selective at all. In the end, we had all of the fast guys still there like Ulissi and Jesus and they were all fresh. It's hard for me to compete against them but, to be honest, I feel pretty good, and I've got good legs," Jorgenson said at the finish in Qurayya.
"These guys are faster than me in a sprint and to beat them you have to get them tired, and the stage has to be a little harder. But today was chill and we didn't have any wind stress and the break got some time. It just didn't go our way, but we still have a few more days."
Jorgenson is making his debut in Oman, but he did his homework before arriving earlier this week. Some old YouTube videos had given him a sense of what to expect on the stage, but the weather didn't turn out how it has in the past.
The still weather made hot work for the riders, but it also meant far less stress in the pack. Aside from a few stragglers, who had lost touch on the first time up the climb, the bunch was relatively intact.
"I think it played out a little differently than it has in the past with what I could tell from watching past years. I think that in past years it was a bit more of a crosswind stage and it was a bit more selective," Jorgenson said. "The climb was just waiting, waiting, waiting until we got around that last switchback and they were fast. I was never going to beat Herrada today."
After three years in the WorldTour peloton, Jorgenson is going into this season with some big ambitions. Despite some close calls, he's yet to take a victory and he's keen to get one on the board as soon as possible.
There are still some opportunities for him with a summit finish on Jabal Haat on Monday and the final day to Jabal Al Akhdhar. He currently sits in fifth place overall at 10 seconds behind Herrada.
"I'm looking for it, I need to get that first pro win and I hope that it happens this week," Jorgenson said. "I think that tomorrow is going to be really good for me. I think the last stage is super-steep so it's going to be a challenge for me but I'm up for it."
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