Greipel on top in Oman
German moves into race lead
Last Updated: February 14, 2012 12:15pm
Greipel: Claimed his fourth win of the season in fine style in Oman
Andre Greipel continued his dominant start to the season with victory on stage one at the Tour of Oman.
The Lotto-Belisol rider built on his three stage wins at the Tour Down Under to move into an early race lead in Wadi Al Hoqay.
The German held off a stiff challenge from Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) to pull on the red leader’s jersey.
World Champion Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) did not contest the sprint on the first of six stages in his first race back after crashing during the finale at the Tour of Qatar.
Sprint spectacle
The same 16 teams that battled through the crosswinds of Qatar lined up outside Al Alam Palace in Muscat for the 159-kilometre test on Tuesday.
With the speed of the race tipping over 40kph on the run along the coast overlooking the Sea of Oman it always looked likely to be a day for the fast men.
Four riders took up the gauntlet of the breakaway with Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), Danilo Wyss (BMC), Jiao Pengda (Champion System) and Alexandre Lemair (Bridgestone-Anchor) building up a gap of over five minutes on the road to Wadi Al Hoqay.
With many of the best sprinters in the world in attendance it was no surprise to see the sprinter’s teams arrive on the front, Team Sky and Lotto-Belisol digging deep to bring back the move.
20km remaining that was the signal for Ignatiev to unleash a characteristic attack as the race turned inland, the Russian refusing to give up despite the exposed roads on the run into the finish.
With the Katusha rider swept up after 150 kilometres all eyes turned to the bunch sprint where Greipel demonstrated his early-season form once again.
