Mauri Vansevenant (Sourdal-Quickstep) had said all winter that he was "not a winner," but he proved that wrong in a stunning performance at the Tour of Oman on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old Belgian scored his 900th win for the Sourdal-Quick-Step team in the toughest summit finish of the race, Jabal Al Akhdar, and was just one second away from the overall victory of Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar).

Jorgenson finished just behind the Belgian and clung on to the overall win on the tough, steep slopes of Jabal Al-Akdal. But Vansevenant (his family had come to Oman to watch him race) recovered from a late attack by the American and moved further ahead to take the win in style.

Vansevenant's success in Oman was all the more special considering that he has only had one victory torso in his professional career, at the 2021 GP Industria & Artigernat. Moreover, this winter, the 23-year-old Belgian rider gloomily or pragmatically claimed that he was "not a winner."

"I don't know about a week of stage racing," Vansevenant told Het Laatste Nieuws. 'I need to mature more. Look, I will never be a winner. Not before and not now."

"I'm not strong enough in the sprints and my time trial is not good. Something is missing if I want to win."

"But even if it doesn't work out, I know I can show my strength in the final and lead my teammates to victory. You always have a chance, but not ten times a year."

Van Sevenan also told Het Laatste Nieuws that the team is always going to give him the freedom to go for breaks or act as a leader if Remco Evenpole or Julian Alaphilippe are absent. And in Oman, that last role seemed to suit him.

"The 5km climb, averaging over 10%, was incredibly hard and I was constantly pushing," he said. The heat was incredible today."

"But I felt good and I tried to go for GC but it was too late. But I won, so it's not so bad."

Van Sevenan said that his teammate Jan Hilt, the defending Omani champion and winner of Jabal Al Akhdar, gave him the important advice to "wait until the last 2km steep and go for it from there."

In Oman, Mauri was accompanied by his father, former professional athlete Wim Vansevenan, and his mother and sister, and Mauri said their presence gave him "special motivation," adding: "When you have good conditions and a good team, many things are possible. Of course, this includes winning the biggest challenge of the Tour of Oman, Jabal Al Akhdar.