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Preview written by Sergio Yustos (@serioyustos_) and Fantasy tips by Cédric Molina (@ilcapoced)

ROUTE ANALYSIS

STAGE 1 - Sprint finish.

• Time: 07:25 - 12:50 CET

Explosive start on Jabal Road (3.6 km at 8.9%), which should allow the break of the day to form. After the initial rolling terrain, the last 50 km are flat and favour a bunch sprint. A 171.5 km day suited to sprinters.

STAGE 2 - Finish for puncheurs/GC riders

• Time: 07:25 - 12:22 CET

The stage is quite undulating and has a profile we have already seen in very similar form in previous editions. In the final kilometres there will be several climbs, but two stand out: Al Hamriyah (1.0 km - 8.6%) and Climb of Yitti Hills (1.7 km - 5.8%). The finish line comes shortly after the latter.

STAGE 3 - Finish for puncheurs/GC riders

• Time: 07:10 - 12:50 CET

The finish at Eastern Mountain (3.6 km - 7.5%) makes another appearance in the Tour of Oman. It is a tougher finale than the previous day, but the stage profile is quite similar. We will see more or less the same protagonists at the finish, although with potentially bigger gaps on the line.

STAGE 4 - Sprint stage

• Time: 08:10 - 12:50 CET

A 146 km stage between Sohar and Al Sawadi Beach, with a flat route and barely 13 metres of maximum altitude. The full exposure to the sea throughout the stage makes the wind the critical factor and possibly the only thing capable of animating the race if it shows up; if not, we can expect a straightforward sprint, where positioning will be as decisive as top speed.

STAGE 5 - Stage for the GC

• Time: 07:15 - 12:00 CET

The race finishes with Oman's most iconic climb (even though they will not go all the way to the very top). Green Mountain (5.6 km - 10.2%) will decide the final stage winner and, of course, the overall classification.

THE WEATHER

Average temperatures of 24°C (highs of 28°C and lows of 18°C) with a probability of rain below 5%. The wind will range between 11 and 32 km/h, with occasional gusts that could reach 40 km/h midweek. This will need to be monitored because, if the forecast is borne out on any given day, it could be decisive.

FAVOURITES FOR THE GC

With the start list in front of us and after reviewing the profile of the different stages, it is clear that victory is likely to go to a climber. The ascent to Green Mountain is enough on its own to shape the race. And bearing this in mind, there is a clear favourite: Adam Yates. He is not only the top favourite, but he also has a great opportunity in front of him: to win this GC for the third consecutive year and thus become the rider with the most overall victories here. His form was already evident in the Muscat Classic.

Chasing this win, we have a list headed by Valentin Paret-Peintre, who, while being the second candidate, is still an inconsistent rider who often raises doubts. Behind him are other names such as Christian Scaroni, Sepp Kuss, Harold López, Einer Rubio and Mauri Vansevenant, who will probably be the riders closest to the Briton on the toughest days. Here we could also mention names such as Mauro Schmid, who given his current form should be up there as well, or others like Diego Ulissi, Bart Lemmen, Junior Lecerf or Roger Adrià, who, while not pure climbers, could also hover around the upper part of the general classification.

We should not forget Lorenzo Fortunato, Luke Plapp and Nairo Quintana. Three riders who come to the start under a cloud of uncertainty, each for a different reason, but who, if they find good sensations, should also be among the contenders. In fact, Nairo Quintana is starting the season with a bit more presence than in recent years, while Luke Plapp showed more than positive signs in Muscat.

After this whole array of names, we could still mention others such as Paul Double, Cristián Rodríguez, Alex Baudin, Damien Howson, Chris Harper, Alex Baudin, Martin Tjøtta, Jefferson Cepeda or Rémy Rochas, but I prefer to focus on others: young riders who come here clearly intending to shine and with the ability to do so in the mountains. These are Diego Pescador, Pablo Torres, Brieuc Rolland, Lukas Nerurkar, Finlay Pickering and Jan Castellon. Riders we should also keep in mind.

CONTENDERS FOR STAGE WINS

For the stage wins, to all these riders who will obviously feature in most stages fighting for the GC, we must add the purest puncheurs and, of course, the sprinters.

Among the puncheurs we can include names such as Rasmus Tiller, Alberto Bettiol, Natnael Tesfatsion, Vincenzo Albanese, Jesús Herrada, Thibaud Gruel, Stefano Oldani, Henok Mulubrhan and Simone Gualdi, who personally is one of the riders I am most eager to see this season, and who already has suitable terrain here to shine. It is not that we should remove others like Mauro Schmid, Diego Ulissi, Roger Adrià or Junior Lecerf from this category, but those listed directly here are riders I do not see fighting for the GC, yet I do see them targeting stages.

In the group of fast men we do not have a standout star, but we do have an interesting list of second-tier options. Riders such as Émilien Jeannière, Erlend Blikra, Stanisław Aniołkowski, Gerben Thijssen, Bryan Coquard, Axel Zingle, Juan Sebastian Molano, Jensen Plowright, Fernando Gaviria and Florian Dauphin appear, along with other younger riders who are expected to shine in these races, such as Steffen De Schuyteneer, Emmanuel Houcou and Sente Sentjens.

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IL CAPO CED’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE A CAPO IN FANTASY

📂 Of the 9 most-selected riders, how many managed to finish in the top 15 in Fantasy points?

2022: 6

2023: 6

2024: 5

2025: 7

📂 Of the top 10 riders with the most Fantasy points, how many had been chosen by 10% or fewer of users?

2022: 2 (including the rider with the most pts)

2023: 2

2024: 3

2025: 2

📝 Based on what was mentioned in the two points above, a good balance for your ‘9’ would be:

• 5–7 riders from among the 9 most selected in the app
• 1–3 riders from the mid-range in % of selections
• 1–3 unicorns (riders with under 10% selection)

📝 Given the race route, a good balance for your ‘9’ would be:

• 6–7 riders who are going to fight for the GC
• 2–3 sprinters

📝 For the young riders’ jersey, only riders born on or after 1 January 2001 will count.

📂 Top 3 in the young riders’ jersey classification and whether or not they made the top 15 riders with the most Fantasy points.

2022: Charmig (YES 3rd), Vauquelin (YES 8th), Colleoni (YES 15th)

2023: Jorgenson (YES 1st), Vansevenant (YES 2nd), Van Gils (YES 4th)

2024: Fisher-Black (YES 1st), Vansevenant (YES 11th), Kulset (NO 20th)

2025: V. Paret-Peintre (YES 1st), Uijtdebroeks (YES 8th), Svestad-Bårdseng (YES 11th)

📝 Judge for yourselves, but it seems clear that it is indeed worthwhile to try to pick riders who will fight for the young riders’ classification.

📝 Finally, here are my 10 capos to follow in Fantasy terms. They are all riders who cost 200–400 coins or who have not been chosen by even 10% of users:

V. Paret-Peintre (400), Roger Adrià (400), Mauro Schmid (400), Henok Mulubrhan (200), Nat Tesfazion (200), Diego Pescador (200), Rick Pluimers (200), Jan Castellón (200), Rasmus Tiller (200), Lukas Nerurkar (200)