Italian neo-pro Davide De Pretto continued his impressive start to the season with a strong sprint to third place on a tough stage four finish at the Tour of Oman.

After racking up two top-10 finishes at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and a 10th place at the Muscat Classic, the 21-year-old had already displayed his potential before another 10th place finish on stage two in Oman.

De Pretto now climbs up to seventh overall on the general classification after making the reduced bunch that contested the demanding finish to today’s stage four.

Blake Quick gave Team Jayco AlUla representation in the early breakaway, but as the escapees came back ahead of the hilly finale, De Pretto stayed alert and followed the dangerous moves.

The Italian then positioned himself well inside the final kilometre before sprinting to third on the stage to move into the top-10 overall with one day remaining.

Davide De Pretto (3rd):
“It was a hard stage today because it was short and intense with all the climbs concentrated in the finale. I have to thank all the team and in a special way Durbridge for his great job in positioning me into the last climb and taking me to the sprint.

Maybe I waited too much in the sprint, so Capiot anticipated me but of course third place is a good result for me. Tomorrow is the last stage, I still have good legs and I hope I can confirm my top-10 overall.”

2024 Tour of Oman Stage 4 – Results:
1. Amaury Capiot 2:17:37
2. Ide Schelling ST
3. Davide De Pretto (Team Jayco AlUla) ST

Photo: Sprint Cycling