Oomen encouraged by early signs at Volta ao Algarve

22 February 2019 09:38
Before the Volta ao Algarve peloton left Portimão for the opening stage on Wednesday, Sam Oomen confessed that he didn’t know quite what to expect from his stint in Portugal. The 23-year-old Dutchman finished an impressive ninth at the 2018 Giro d'Italia but the five-day event is his first outing of 2019 and he views himself as a rider who needs to race his way into a new season.    As he warmed down on the turbo trainer outside the Team Sunweb bus atop the Alto da Fóia on Thursday afternoon, Oomen acknowledged that his first major competitive effort of the campaign had been a promising one, even though he admitted to frustration at missing out on victory on stage 2.    Oomen was among the handful of riders to withstand Team Sky’s pressure on the 8km climb to the finish but was unable to match the acceleration of stage winner Tadej Pogar (UAE Team Emirates) in the closing metres and had to settle for fourth place, five seconds down on the Slovenian, and just behind Wout Poels (Team Sky) and Enric Mas (Deceuninck-QuickStep). ADVERTISEMENT “The season is still long, but I can definitely say that my winter hasn’t been bad," Oomen told Cyclingnews. "I can be pretty satisfied with my legs in the final, but when you’re so close to the win it’s always a small disappointment that you didn’t finish it off. I don’t know what else I could have done, you know. Sky was always pulling at such a high pace. They rode really smart and it’s really hard to attack them then."   Perhaps mindful that he would struggle to out-kick men like Poels and Mas in a shorter effort, Oomen opted to seize the initiative and hit the front when Amaro Antunes (CCC) attacked inside the final kilometre. Although he was unable to shake off his rivals, it was a notable statement of intent.   Thinking of the time trial You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article

Source: Cycling News