“I had nothing to lose today” – Adam Yates reflects on all-in GC gamble after Tour of Oman finale

Adam Yates admitted he was left with no choice but to race aggressively on the final stage of the Tour of Oman, as his bid to overturn the general classification came up short on the decisive slopes of Jebel Akhdar.

The UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader finished fourth on the stage and secured third overall, marking his third consecutive podium finish at the race.

But after time losses earlier in the week following a crash and a depleted team, Yates made clear that stage 5 was about chasing the overall win rather than riding conservatively for position.

“We were so far down after stage 3, with the crash, we just had to go full gas,” Yates said in a post-stage press release. “We lost a lot of guys through sickness and injuries, so we did not have many options.”

With limited support on the final climb, Yates explained that the decision to attack earlier than planned was driven by circumstance rather than design.

“I only had Pablo on the climb, and he is fighting through his own little injury, so he did the best he could for the lead-out,” he said. “I had to go earlier than I had liked. Maybe in hindsight it was the wrong decision to go early, but I needed to push and to test everybody and see how everybody was.”

That sustained effort helped bring back attacks from Team Jayco AlUla, but it also opened the door for Christian Scaroni to launch the race-winning move inside the final kilometre.

Yates also pointed to the conditions on Green Mountain as a decisive factor, describing a far tougher climb than in previous editions.

“The climb today was super hard, especially with the hot weather,” he said. “I think the last two years were a little bit cooler, but today was a scorcher.”

Despite the effort, Yates was unable to distance all of his rivals, conceding that the strongest rider on the day ultimately prevailed.

“I had nothing to lose today, I was more interested in taking the GC than going for the stage,” he said. “I was hoping if I kept pushing, pushing, pushing, I would crack everybody. But today there were a few guys stronger than me and sometimes that is how it is.”

While the final result fell short of his ultimate goal, Yates stressed that UAE Team Emirates-XRG committed fully to the plan, leaving nothing unused on the road.

“We can say we tried,” he said. “We pulled all day through Rune and Molano, so we put everything into today, and the result is the result.”

Yates leaves Oman with another podium finish and valuable early-season climbing kilometres in the legs, having once again been at the centre of the race when the overall classification was decided.