Tour of Oman

[Dr_Mutley]

Is there any live TV coverage live there was for the ToQ? I see there are some highlights on Eurosports but appears to be nothing live?

Hoping to see Cameron Meyer go a couple of places better this year and win it

[MichaelB]

Wish there was.... the climb is meant to be a bit of a bugger on the 4th stage ...



It's apparently a 6km climb (AT) ~ 10%

[Redbull]

SBS had highlights last year.

Oman looked like a very interesting country.

Much preferred this race to Qatar.

[Chuck]

.... the climb is meant to be a bit of a bugger on the 4th stage ...



It's apparently a 6km climb (AT) ~ 10%

Hoping to see Cameron Meyer go a couple of places better this year and win it

That climb and the ITT (although not all that long) gives him a shot at it

[JV911]

Oman looked like a very interesting country.

It is!

unlike dubai there is plenty to do that doesnt involve shopping

[Chuck]

Goss is killing it at the minute

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/2nd-to ... -2/results

Overall lead too

[JV911]

Stage one winner and race leader Theo Bos (Rabobank) was unable to get back up to the front group despite a concerted pursuit by his teammates and he finished 10:34 behind. With him were world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad), Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and most of the other sprinters.

[JV911]

17th February, Stage 3: Sur 208km

Theo Bos (Rabobank) outsprinted Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) and Matt Goss (HTC - Highroad) to win stage three.

Theo Bos (Rabobank) took his second sprint victory and another huge step forward as a road sprinter at the end of the longest stage of the Tour of Oman in Sur on Thursday.

The former track sprint world champion has formed a successful sprinting combo with Australian teammate Graeme Brown. Bos has the pure finishing speed to win from the front while Brown has the experience to know how to do the dirty work and get Bos through the chaos of the final kilometre.

A strong swirling head and side wind made the sprint in the sparse outskirts of Sur more dangerous than usual but Bos went early on the long, straight finish to beat Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) and Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad).

It was yet another podium placing for Bennati, his sixth in Qatar and Oman, but the Italian still seeks his first victory of the season. Goss kept the red race leader's jersey for another day and leads Bennati by two seconds and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) by 10 seconds after three days of racing.

After celebrating with his arms in the air as he blasted through the finish area, Bos was last back to the Rabobank team car but was congratulated by everyone in the team. He was ecstatic to have won again.

"It was really nice," Bos said with a beaming smile. "I hit the front too early but I just thought I'd go and see what happened. I made it to the finish.

"I stayed calm during the finale and I told the guys that if we got boxed in, we get got boxed in. It was difficult to get to the front and it didn't work that well but then Brownie (Graeme Brown) went with 500 metres to go and I went with three hundred metres."

Bos admitted he needs a clear run to win a sprint so he can open up his natural high-end speed. Despite winning both the sprints he has contested here in Oman, he claimed he still has a lot to learn.

"He (Brown) is a strong sprinter and great in the finale. My problem is that I'm not such a good cyclist but I have a really good sprint," he said.

"I have to improve the cycling point, the climbing and the bunch sprints. But fortunately for me, the team is good at setting up the sprinting part."

While Rabobank celebrated, the other teams were not happy after a long day in the saddle and a 200km drive back to their hotel. Several riders were angry with the way Brown had dragged Bos to the front. But with no television or overhead replays for the judges to consider, the other teams had no evidence of dangerous riding and had to admit it was all part of sprinting.

"The sprint was pretty crazy. Brownie took a few guys out I think and that kind of messed things up a bit," Matt Goss said.

"We were going to go for the stage win with either me or Cavendish. We were both feeling good and he was on my wheel with 800 [metres] to go, but there was a lot of chaos with the wind and I saw Mark wasn't there with 600 to go. I was in the perfect position and so I went myself. Unfortunately most of us got ridden off the road in the last hundred metres or so and Bos and Bennati got a gap on us. But that's racing."


General classification after stage 3

1 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad 12:11:13
2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek 0:00:02
3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:10
4 Pieter Serry (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 0:00:11
5 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
6 Marko Kump (Slo) Geox-TMC
7 Tanel Kangert (Est) Pro Team Astana 0:00:13
8 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 0:00:14
9 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
10 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team

[MichaelB]

Surprise, surprise, Brownie accused of sprinting a bit 'dirty' ....

Well done to Goss, still in the leaders jersey and HH in 5th for the stage

The next stage will be REALLY interesting

[JV911]

Surprise, surprise, Brownie accused of sprinting a bit 'dirty' ....

nooooo, really??

[Chuck]

Would have been a good stage to watch....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/2nd-to ... -4/results

ITT should be interesting, Boasson Hagen, Vande Velde and even possibly Fab still in it.

[JV911]

Fabs' SRM from the TT