"I know how hard the blows can be" - Amaury Capiot emotional with comeback win at Tour of Oman

Amaury Capiot began his 2023 season in August. The Belgian suffered from ITB friction syndrome in the knee which had him lose out on most of the year, but 2024 started off with a bang as the Arkéa - B&B Hotels rider stormed to victory today at the Tour of Oman.

It was a day where the climbs split the field, and Capiot himself was dropped. However, with the help of his teammates he was able to regain position in the peloton and contest for the win in the Yitti Hills. “We were all a bit terrified. I tried to go from three hundred meters, because I still had to come from quite a distance. But I also immediately saw that it was too early," Capiot told Wielerflits at the podium.

"I had to grab [Ide] Schelling's wheel again to put everything on those last 75 meters." Luckily for the 30-year old, this ended up in a powerful victory. The first of his season, and first since May 2022. "The emotion may not come out all at once, but it will now simply give way gradually. In any case, it means a lot to me.” Capiot outsprinted Ide Schelling and Davide de Pretto to score this triumph.

“I still feel like I have to work towards my best level. That's why I said that my third place in the Muscat Classic came as a big surprise to me. This is the extra surprise that comes with it. I am someone who always has to work hard to try to reach my best level. But I don't win often either," he admits. "That's why I really need to take advantage of this feeling now. In the meantime, I know how hard the blows can be, but you have to accept them and hit back just as hard in other races.“