For Valentin Paret Peintre, it was a liberating victory, but above all, a joyful one. At the finish line of the fifth stage of the Tour of Oman, atop Green Mountain, the Soudal Quickstep rider beat Adam Yates in a literally last-meter duel. This is the first victory for the 2001-born rider with his new team, which he immediately wanted to thank for their work.

"I am very happy for myself, but especially for the team. This is my first victory in my first race with this new team, and my greatest dedication can only go to them. Today, everyone was super - my teammates who were always by my side and my team director who was following me step by step on the radio, reminding me of the toughest sections. I had never tackled this climb before, but it was as if I knew it, as we had studied it thoroughly on veloview in the previous days, and I knew the key points," Paret Peintre explains to tuttobiciweb, with the emotion of the achievement still painted in his eyes. This is the second victory for Team Soudal Quickstep, which had already won in the second stage with Louis Vervaeke, on the same day Paret Peintre had finished second behind his teammate.

The 5 kilometers of climbing were a true spectacle, with Gaudu, Yates, and Paret Peintre facing off on the final ramps, giving absolutely everything. "It wasn't an easy climb, the gradients were intense, but especially the heat made a big difference. At one point, I noticed Gaudu was at his limit, about to drop off, so I spoke with Yates and we took turns raising the pace to try to make a difference. When we were down to two, he tried to attack twice, I tried to resist, and once we entered the last 100 meters, I tried to give everything I had, making a real all-in," continues Paret Peintre, who just before this Omani experience had explained to us how the team had come to Oman to target a stage win. The Wolfpack did even better, with the final tally showing two stage wins, plus the white jersey for best young rider and the green points classification jersey.

Valentin Paret Peintre is just at the beginning of a new adventure, after four years with Decathlon Ag2r, he has now joined Soudal Quickstep, where the environment is completely different. He has changed trainer, type of training, but most importantly, what it means to be a team. "I had a good winter, but it wasn't easy to face so many changes. I have a new trainer who is making me work more specifically, and the team atmosphere is very special. Being part of the Wolfpack means being united, working for others. There's a particular mentality where everyone is encouraged to give their maximum and do everything to win," says Paret Peintre. "In the team, there are incredibly strong riders with great experience like Mikel Landa, who is a great climber and has achieved excellent results in grand tours. I try to draw some inspiration from him."

After the Tour of Oman, Paret Peintre's next appointments will be the Drôme Classic and the Ardèche Classic, where he will ride in support of Landa.