Diego Ulissi wins Stage 4 of the Tour of Oman atop Ytti Hills 

Italian veteran Diego Ulissi sprinted to victory in the fourth stage of the Tour of Oman on Tuesday, while American Matteo Jorgenson retained the race lead

The longest stage of the race, a 127-mile run from Izki, ended with late climbs in the Yitti Hills which reduced the leading bunch.

Under23 World Champion Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana Qazaqstan) and 3 other riders formed a breakaway but were caught with 11 km to go.

In the Al Jissah climb (3.2 km at 5.4%) Maxim Van Gils launched a powerful attack counter by Alexey Lutsenko that made an elite group of 4 riders with race leader Matteo Jorgenson and second overall Mauri Vansevenant.

But they were caught by the peloton and Pascal Ackermann launched a surprising solo attack.

In the final stretch, Ulissi, a 33-year-old Team UAE rider, pulled away from Frenchman Axel Zingle of Cofidis and Dutchman Ide Schelling of Bora. 

The winning bonus lifted Ulissi to second overall, five seconds behind Jorgenson of Movistar with one stage to go. 

Wednesday’s 95 mile final stage ends with a 3 mile climb up Jabal Al Akhdhar, the Green Mountain.

VIDEO: 2023 Stage 4 Highlights

2023 Stage 4 Top 10

1 ITA Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates 04:36:48
2 FRA Axel Zingle Cofidis + 00
3 NED Ide Schelling BORA-hansgrohe + 00
4 BEL Jordi Warlop Soudal Quick-Step + 00
5 DEN Louis Bendixen Uno-X Pro Cycling Team + 00
6 BEL Jenthe Biermans Team Arkéa-Samsic + 00
7 ITA Andrea Vendrame AG2R Citroën Team + 00
8 BEL Maxim Van Gils Lotto Dstny + 00
9 ESP Jesus Herrada Cofidis + 00
10 KAZ Alexey Lutsenko Astana Qazaqstan Team + 00

2023 GC after Stage 4

01 USA Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team 16:02:36
02 ITA Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates + 05
03 BEL Mauri Vansevenant Soudal Quick-Step + 05
04 FRA Geoffrey Bouchard AG2R Citroën Team + 14
05 BEL Maxim Van Gils Lotto Dstny + 15
06 ESP Jesus Herrada Cofidis + 16
07 EST Rein Taaramäe Intermarché-Circus-Wanty + 18
08 MON Victor Langellotti Burgos-BH + 18
09 BEL Cian Uijtdebroeks BORA-hansgrohe + 18
10 ESP Cristian Rodriguez Team Arkéa-Samsic + 18