Monday's final stage of the Tour of Oman, Green Mountain, was a good day for France's Arkea Samsic as Jan Hilt (Intermarque-Wanti-Gobert) took a stage win and a chance to win the overall.

The team lost three places to sixth place as team leader Elie Gesbert struggled in the heat of stage 4, while runner-up Kevin Voeckelin, after a podium finish in Muscat, was over a minute behind stage winner Fausto Masnada (Quick-Step AlfaVinyl) He was in 19th place, despite being behind.

In the Green Mountains, however, the duo shined brightest, finishing second and third behind Hilt on the steep slopes of the Al Hajar range.

Gesbert finished 48 seconds behind, just two seconds ahead of third-place finisher Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates). Neo Pro Vaquelin was the closest man to Hilt, whose name few fans had heard before this week. The 20-year-old French U23 time trial champion was 39 seconds ahead of the Czech climber, moving him into sixth place overall.

"I've hardly raced any mountain races as an amateur in the last few seasons, and I never thought I could do this in the pros," Voeckelin said after the 150.5km stage, which was hit by a crosswind midway through.

"The climb is similar to a time trial because you have to maintain watts for a certain time. So that's what I do. There's a gradient that is commensurate with my size, but I've been able to manage it well and manage my effort so that I don't go into the red.

"Second place here is different from yesterday's podium because it's a mountaintop finish where you have to be physically strong. Of course, I surprised even myself.

Gesbert praised his young teammates for their incredible effort on the climb, despite the frustration of barely missing the podium -- albeit with a slight chance of getting the bonus seconds needed for the two intermediate sprints on stage 6.

"I'm happy for Kevin to take second place and to have a strong ride," said the team's leader. 'It's a good thing. It's good for a new young rider. I think he's going to be a very good rider in the future."

Kevin himself said he may have pushed too hard to stay with Hilt on the double-digit gradients of Green Mountain. After the Czech rider took the stage win, Hilt dropped back and raced with teammate Vokelan, but fell behind Vokelan in the closing stages.

"It was a stressful day, plagued by crosswinds. We were always one step ahead and where we needed to be." Green Mountain is a tough climb.

"Personally, I probably got a little carried away when Hilt attacked. I was a few seconds short of getting on the podium.

"I still have regrets about stage 4, where I suffered in the heat. I missed the podium by a few seconds there too. But that's sport."