Tour of Oman
Sean Flynn (Picnic-PostNL) scored an excellent third place on stage two of the .Pro Tour of Oman, on a fast and hilly stage of the Arab race.
Coming into the main climbs in the closing 30 kilometres, Team Picnic PostNL showed some good teamwork and positioned Flynn to contest the sprint. Due to the large gap for the break, a strong tempo was set at the head of the bunch and the group began to thin down as they took on the final ascent of the 203km stage in the Yitti Hills.
Flynn and his GC teammates made it over within the peloton and looked to set things up for the sprint but lone-leader Vervaeke just held on for the win. Flynn showed a good turn of speed to take a fine third place on the day from the sprint in the peloton; his first Pro level podium.
Flynn told the team’s in-house media: “I’m happy to come away with a third place on the stage after good work from the whole team to put me, Kevin and Warren in position for the final climbs. I was a bit worried coming into the final after I had a flat tyre before the longest climb of the stage but I stayed calm and trusted the team and hard work I’ve put in over the winter to pull me through it. In the final, I learnt the lessons from Muscat classic on Friday and managed to put together a decent finish today.”
Cyclocross
It was a busy week for Cam Mason (Seven Racing) with not one, but three races in Belgium as the cyclocross season reaches it climax.
Sunday saw an excellent performance on the sand at the X2o Trofee in Lille, where a strong start from the Linlithgow rider managed to pay dividends in a hot-tempered race. Mason managed to navigate the sand and avoid the frayed tempers at the front of the field to come home in eighth place, just 11 seconds behind winner Laurens Sweeck.
Sunday result follows up a 20th place in Middlekerke on Saturday on a fast course, and a midfield finish on Wednesday at the Exact Cross in Maldegem. Mason will look forward to the final full weekend of the Belgian season next week with the Waaslandcross and Brussels round of the X2o Trofee.
Valenciana
Eilidh Shaw (pictured far-right) made her debut for the WorldTour team at Team UAE ADQ at the VCV Féminas GP Tuawa. A strong ride in support of teammate Tereza Neumanova delivered the Airdrie rider to 17th place and picked up her first UCI points for her new team. Eilidh will stay the Comunitat for the four-day Setmana Ciclista Valenciana which starts on Thursday.
In the men’s Volta Comunitat Valenciana, Hamish Armitt (Novo-Nordisk) made his debut for the UCI ProTeam. The Scot has seen a meteoric rise in the last year from watching the the UCI World Championships in his native Glasgow in 2023, to racing as a 4th Cat to becoming a professional rider with the American team.
Shimano Super Cup
Sticking in Spain, or the Valencian Community to be specific, the Shimano Super Cup kicked off with the first round of the MTB XC series in Alicante.
Isla Short rode to an excellent fourth place in the race, showing signs of her best form – matching the leaders for pace on the uphill sections in a field that looked to kick-off 2025 in strong form.
Also soaking up the Spanish sun, Zach Buchan (Pentland Racers) was enjoying his racing in the U17 race – coming home 16th, with brother Josh behind in 52nd spot in Alicante.
Charlie Aldridge was also in action at the Mediterranean Epic in Castellion, with the Cannondale Factory Racing rider claiming the fourth and final stage