"The race played out exactly as we told ourselves it would": Mauro Schmid and Luke Plapp take apart opponents in Oman

It's taken a bit longer than Team Jayco AlUla have hoped for, but Mauro Schmid finally won their first race of 2026. The Australian team would've certainly preferred to tick off this box already on home soil during the Tour Down Under or Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, but ultimately the Swiss champion put an end to his waiting in Oman during the Muscat Classic (1.Pro) on Friday. And to add a further reason to celebrate, he was accompanied on the podium by teammate Luke Plapp.

The appetizer race before Tour of Oman (starting on Saturday) took off slowly with only one brave rider joining the early breakaway - Baptiste Veistroffer - a simple situation to control for the peloton. And as there was little haste in the bunch, a large group arrived to the foot of the day's final climb of Al Jissah with 5 kilometers to go.

Once there, UAE's Adam Yates did not waste a second to accelerate away from the group with only Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid able to keep up. The trio quickly built a large enough lead to ensure the battle for victory will be decided between them. Plapp set up the sprint for Schmid who gave a more lean Yates no chance in the 1 on 1 duel.

"It feels great to win here," Schmid said afterwards on team website. "I knew the race suited my characteristics very well and I knew I was in good shape after the races in Australia." Schmid was second overall at Tour Down Under and finished fourth in the follow-up one-day race.

Schmid admits that leaving Australian block of racing empty-handed was a bitter pill to swallow for the team, and thus the goal today was more than clear with everyone dedicated to executing pre-race strategy to a point.

"We were very motivated for today’s race, and I have to say everything was perfect. I knew I had to reach the top of the last climb, either alone or with a small group, and then focus on doing well in the sprint. Having Luke with me was crucial because it allowed me to prepare for the sprint as best as possible," the Swiss champion highlights his teammate's contribution.

Luke Plapp was ultimately not in the position to try and win the race himself as his odds in a sprint against Adam Yates were much worse than his teammate's. But otherwise, the race had gone precisely how the two men envisioned it to go in advance.

"Today was perfect. Me and Mauro are roommates here and we’ve been speaking about it for the last few days," Plapp reveals. "Exactly what we said to each other happened. We said it would be perfect if we went away with Adam Yates and then Mauro could beat him in the sprint. It was a case of being patient. With the hot weather, it was making it harder and there were big gaps by the last climb. I think everyone was quite tired by the time we got to the finish. In the end, we rode it perfectly to take the win."