Tour of Oman 2014 - Stage 1

The fifth Tour of Oman kicked off today with a 164.5 kilometre stage from As Suwayq Castle to Naseem Garden. It was a generally flat profile that would suit the sprinters, mostly the likes of Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan. It was a strong line up as always in the Middle East, last year's winner Christopher Froome is out to defend his title. 

A breakaway did go up the road, containing two Italians and two Belgians. Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF) and Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare) were the two Italians, and Preben Van Hecke and Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) were the two Belgians. Their breakaway gained nearly five minutes over the peloton, with Van Hecke taking the King of the Mountains point on the stage.

There was one non-starter before the race had even begun however. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr), a top ten finisher in the 2012 Tour de France, pulled out citing fever and a sore throat. FDJ.fr nevertheless worked tirelessly for their sprinter Nacer Bouhanni, along with Lotto-Belisol for their man Andre Greipel. 

Greipel hit problems in the stage when crosswinds split the peloton after 142 kilometres, and the big German was left behind by the front group. Lotto-Belisol soon hit back though, reeling in the front group with ten kilometres to spare. It was Belkin who were controlling the race going into the final two kilometres though.

Nevertheless, Lotto overhauled them and propelled their man Andre Greipel to another win. He finished just ahead of Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF). Greipel dedicated the win to former teammate Olivier Kaisen, who retired from the sport this month following heart complications. Greipel's win is the fourth of his campaign so far, and he will be looking to add to it tomorrow, when the race runs from Al Bustan to Quriyat.