Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) failed to repeat last year's win on the Green Mountain in the Tour of Oman but the Spaniard showed sign of progress by finishing 4th on the feared climb. Despite not coming away with the win, he was happy with the outcome of what he saw as an important test.

Joaquim Rodriguez showed the first signs of form in the 5th stage of the Tour of Oman, finishing in 4th position atop the 6 kilometer-long Green Mountain.

“The final climb was very hard but of course we knew it,” said Rodriguez, winner of the same stage in the 2013 Tour of Oman. “I felt good during the stage, but I am not yet in ideal shape. I want to thank the team for a really great job today, both during the stage and on the climb. The guys were absolutely perfect.”

Near the 2 km to go mark the day’s decisive action played out on the road with an attack by 2013 Tour de France winner Christopher Froome (Sky).

“I saw Froome attack. Van Garderen and Uran followed him and I followed them. I tried to catch them and at least I was close. In the last 500 meters I gave my all, 100% of me. I almost caught Uran and finished 4th. I am pretty satisfied. It was a hard but very good test for me. I did my best for this time of the season but I feel I am on the right track,” Rodriguez concluded.

The 147.5km stage began in BidBid and concluded midway up Green Mountain (Jabal Al Akhdhar) at 1235m, the highest peak in Eastern Arabia with an average gradient of 10.5%. Froome’s attack gave him the stage win, as well as the overall race lead with one day of racing still to go. Second and third place went to Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). Rodriguez' fourth place moved him into 4th on the GC, 48 seconds off the lead.

Another Katusha Team rider Daniel Moreno finished 14th on the stage and moved up to 10th position on GC, 1.34 behind Froome.

“First of all I want to note that the team was super today,” added team director Torsten Schmidt. “The entire team did an excellent job. I am proud of the guys. It was a great race. In the final our leader did everything to get the highest result possible, keeping up the fight all the way to the finish line. So, we took a very good result, not the best one, but it was a real climb and a real fight with the best riders in the world. The best one won today, but we were very close.”

The 2014 Tour of Oman ends on Sunday with a 146.5km stage beginning in As Sifah and ending in Matrah Corniche.

You can read our preview of the race here.