Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) received confirmation of his pre-Classics form with third place on the uphill finish on stage 3 of the Tour of Oman, on a day when crosswinds gave the peloton a true workout. The Belgian ultimately had to bow to Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), who surged clear at the top of the Qurayyat climb - 2.8km at 6.5 per cent - to win his second consecutive stage and move into the overall lead. A couple of seconds later, Van Avermaet, who will line up at the `opening weekend´ - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne - in Belgium in early March, was pipped to the line by Jesús Herrada (Cofidis). However he was far from disappointed.ADVERTISEMENT `I´m super happy for myself that I´m in good form. I couldn´t win but on this finish, when you see how Lutsenko is riding at the moment, that´s a good third place,` Van Avermaet said after a warm-down loop beyond the finish line. The day wasn´t all about the final climb, however. Unlike when this finish was used two years ago - Soren Kragh Andersen was the winner that day - Monday´s stage featured two ascents of the Qurayyat climb. Moreover, crosswinds were blowing, sparking a frenetic final 60km of racing. Van Avermaet made the first split, and went clear on the first ascent in a small group with Lutsenko. The race came mostly back together after the descent, but it split again and Van Avermaet found himself in a lead group of 35 that hit the final climb together. `There was just a crosswind section before the climb and I was a little by myself. I almost missed it, because I was a bit far back because I was not expecting it. I did a big effort; actually, to really come to the first group, then it was 30 minutes almost on my limit. `Afterwards, I could recover a bit to do the last climb, so it was not the best positioning for me but it was probably one of the best training [sessions] I could do and I´m pretty happy with how it went.` Van Avermaet looked strong as the group thinned on the ...
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