Louis Vervaeke believed in himself from start to finish, pedaling against the hellish heat of Oman and boldly challenging a group that tried multiple times to catch up with him. At the Yitti Hills finish line, he arrived alone and immediately dedicated the victory to his wife and children by kissing the tattoo dedicated to them. This is the first professional victory for the Belgian rider who had tried several times in his career, getting third and second places, but had never tasted the thrill of a final win.

"It's beautiful to win, I had come close many times, but never succeeded and at a certain point I almost stopped believing. I've always been an attacker, then in 2022 I joined Soudal Quickstep and finally found my place - Vervaecke explains right after the award ceremony - today everything is amazing, it almost doesn't seem real and now all my thoughts are for my wife Astrid and my children Augustin and Celestine, without them, without the support they give me every day, I would never have been able to be here today. I have a tattoo dedicated to them and I felt like kissing it at the finish line. It was just right."

Vervaeke's day was literally full-on, we had the opportunity to follow him closely right inside the race, from the moment he tried to break away from the group on the first climb of the day until his solo ride. "In the group, everyone was looking at each other, no one wanted to take responsibility for catching the breakaway that had over 5 minutes, so I tried to play my cards. A Spanish guy from Q36.5 followed me and he was excellent, we immediately found an understanding, we took regular turns, and in the end we arrived together at the head of the race. It was a difficult stage to manage because it was long and very hot, but in the group I had an incredible team that broke the turns, we were true Wolfpack." Louis continues, who, still deeply emotional, was literally besieged by us journalists to know more about this small feat. And about his last uphill kilometer with the group chasing behind. "I must say, I couldn't go on anymore, I was done and the finish line seemed never to arrive. I held on, I had to do it for all the people who loved me, so I started to focus on myself, trying not to see the group that was coming back at high speed. I thought about my family and gave everything I had left."

Tomorrow Louis Vervaeke will start the third stage with the red leader's jersey and only 6" ahead of his teammate Valentin Paret Peintre, who finished second today and who should be the team captain for the upcoming mountain stages.

Louis Vervaecke and Soudal Quickstep's celebration was completed by Remco Evenepoel, who posted an Instagram story with a congratulatory message: "I'm truly proud of my big brother, you totally deserve this".