Two days after he exploded in the heat and lost a bit of moral, Thibaut Pinot passed the test of the Green Mountain at the Tour of Oman. Despite a cautious approach, Pinot took fifth place in the stage, 35" behind the winner,  Spaniard Rafael Valls (Lampre-Merida).

"His teammates took care of him to the foot of the climb," says FDJ sports director Martial Gayant satisfied. "We did everything to cool the his engine down.

"William Bonnet helped him excellently and he was well placed at the foot before. Steve Morabito accompanied him in the beginning of the ascent. Thibaut finished with the leaders and it is good for the morale."

Before reaching Jabal al Akhdhar, the race was animated by the escape of two Belgians, Vandenbergh (Etixx-Quick Step) and Van Hoecke (Topsport Vlaanderen), but the peloton was content with a long procession before the fight.

"From the beginning of the climb, Vincenzo Nibali attacked as he had done it a few years ago to win the stage and Thibaut did not want to get into the red zone," says Gayant. "He fell behind before rejoining the group. Valls had already taken the lead with van Garderen (BMC) and Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo). Valverde (Movistar) attacked and Thibaut countered. He did ​​a nice climb and finished fifth."

With this result, Pinot will return to France with guarantees and that is precisely what he had sought in Oman.