Cian Uijtdebroeks content with fifth place at the Tour of Oman: "“I no longer suffer from the things that I struggled with so much last year"

The Tour of Oman concluded today with Adam Yates snatching the overall victory from David Gaudu on the final stage, as Valentin Paret-Peintre claimed the stage win on debut with Soudal – Quick-Step.

Cian Uijtdebroeks finished fifth in both the final stage and the general classification, and appeared content wit his result.

“I no longer suffer from the things that I struggled with so much last year,” Uijtdebroeks told Wielerflits after the race.

“I was happy when I reached the finish,” Uijtdebroeks opened the interview. “No, it went well today. It’s always a question mark where you stand at the first test of the season. But I think I can be happy. There were just a few riders stronger than me today and they finished ahead of me. I mainly tried not to go over my limit and not to explode.”

The 21-year-old Belgian is aiming for a strong 2025 season. He competed in both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España in 2024 but did not manage to finish either race. However, in 2023, he secured an eighth-place finish at the Vuelta.

“I am satisfied with that result,” he said about his fifth place in the Tour of Oman. “In advance I wanted to do better than in 2023 and especially to be able to compete at the front again, after all those problems last year. I feel that I still have to take a few steps, but I would have definitely signed for this in advance.”

“That means I can finish with a very happy feeling. Physically everything is going well. I can go to my limit again. The step to the absolute top is getting smaller and smaller.”

His confirmed schedule for 2025 includes Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Suisse, as he looks to kick on from his promising start at the Tour of Oman.