Matteo Jorgenson sat quietly on the edge of the trunk of the Movistar team car for 10 minutes before the full Tour of Oman victory was officially announced.

But in the absence of Internet coverage, Jorgenson's nerves were instantly released when the news was shouted from one race reporter to another until it reached the team car, which was about 100 meters above the finish line in Jabal Al Akhdar, A loud cheer went up.

For Mauri Vansevenant's (Sourdal-Quickstep) victory on the summit of Jabal Alkdal had given the Belgian a four-second bonus second and moved him up in the GC standings. But at the sun-drenched finish line, Jorgenson was right behind the 23-year-old.

After ten agonizing minutes, Jorgenson refused to be interviewed until definite news was confirmed, but what was clear was that Movistar's leader had defended the overall by one second, with Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen) in third place.

Jorgenson's two victories in Oman, the first overall title for a North American, could be said to represent a breakthrough with a capital "B" for this young American racer. In just three days, he went from trying for his first win in three years, which didn't come to fruition, to not one, but two wins in one of the toughest races of the early season.

"It was super hard, in the sense that one day was relatively easy, just the heat was an issue. I woke up this morning feeling confident, but a little nervous. I'm a big guy and this kind of climb tests your limits."

Van Sevenan pushed him hard.

"It was close. Mauri surprised me. I've raced with him a lot and I don't really know him, but he's in great shape.

"He went once and I thought he was strong and I knew from when I caught him in the sprint the other day [stage 3] that he would come back in the last few meters. It was a very good win and congratulations."

The bigger prize, however, was for Jorgenson, also 23, whose original goal of winning one race in 2023 was amply achieved by winning the overall in Oman.

"For sure, this GC win was the icing on the cake. 'The win the other day showed that I am one of the strongest players here. My goal this season was to win one and I have been doing that for the last two years. You have no idea how good it feels."

Jorgenson's victory was cause for celebration for multiple reasons, quite apart from his own success, including the happy coincidence that February 15 was the birthday of Movistar director sportif Max Shandri, who led him to victory in Oman.

But more significantly, however, after Tejay Van Garderen took second place overall in 2014 and 2015, Jorgenson has now etched his name in Tour of Oman history as the first American racer to win the race outright.

"Sure, this is super special," Jorgenson said. Tejay came in second."

Then he added with a wry grin, "I'll have to send him a message and rub it in his face."

For Jorgenson, his specific goals for the season following Oman were clear even before the win, but after his first two wins as a professional, he is no doubt determined to raise the bar again as soon as possible.

"February has been really good for me, so now I just need to reassess the situation.

"One of my biggest goals this season is to perform in Paris-Nice. Paris-Nice is one of my favorite races and one of the races I used to watch as a kid. I want to bring this form to Paris-Nice.

Beyond that, another good run at the Tour awaits, but for now, Paris-Nice, where he finished eighth overall in 2021 in his second year as a professional, is definitely on his hit list.

For the team, Movistar's start to the season has been markedly different from the way the team raced in 2022, with newcomer Ruben Guerreiro and his win in the Tour of Saudi Arabia, and now with Jorgenson in Oman. Alejandro Valverde's early victories in Mallorca and El Gran Camino were positive, but the team struggled after that, especially as they did not win at the top level until the end of the summer.

"Honestly, I think the whole points situation was the catalyst for us to kick our butts.

"We were asking ourselves." Are we doing this right, are we doing it right, where are we losing points?"

"Last year was a stressful time, and it was the worst while it lasted. But looking back now we are a stronger team." And Jorgenson is no doubt reaping the benefits as well.