2018 Tour Of Oman Preview

An international peloton will hit the roads of the Oman from February 13 - 18, with a strong field of riders for the GC and the Sprinter stages. American Team Rally Cycling confirmed in the line up

The race provides an early opportunity to tackle some difficult climbs and test the riders' fitness. The race has two sprinter-friendly stages, while puncheurs – riders who thrive on rolling terrain and short, steep climbs -- will have several chances to surprise the peloton.

Most importantly for the GC, the Green Mountain summit finish comes on the eve of the final stage to Matrah Corniche, where climbers will meet their moment of truth.

It is hard to resist the siren call of the Omani mountains. Offering the first really difficult climbs of the season, the opportunity to conquer them continues to attract an increasingly wide range of riders each year.

The familiar punchy finishes on the Al Jissah climb at Al Bustan (1.4 km at 9%) and in Quriyat (2.8 km at 6.5%) are tailor-made for opportunistic attackers like Greg Van Avermaet and seasoned professionals Vincenzo Nibali and Diego Ullissi.

The showdown on these climbs will serve as the prelude to what will be the main event of the Tour of Oman: the ascent of Jabel Akhdhar (Green Mountain). In this penultimate stage, the GC contenders will meet on the slopes of this demanding climb to gauge their form and see if their dreams of overall victory will be fulfilled.

But in the Middle East climbers are not the only kings. The masters of the finishing straight, such as Marcel Kittel and Alexander Kristoff, will also have multiple opportunities to lunge for the victory. Qaboos University and Matrah Corniche will be the settings for these exciting high-speed finishes. The fast men of the peloton will put their trains to work in these two stages, seeking to polish their positioning and oil the machine in order to claim their first major win of the season.

Notable teams that are absent are Team Sky, Lotto Soudal and LottoNL-Jumbo.

Nibali, a former overall winner of the race will line up and look to secure two wins, equalling that of Chris Froome.

American Team Rally Cycling have been confirmed in the line up with a strong team including Rob Britton, Tyler Magner and Brandon McNulty to name a few.

2018 Tour of Oman Map

2018 Tour of Oman Stages

Stage 1, Tue February 13 - Nizwa to Sultan Qaboos University, 162.5 km

The opening stage will give the sprinters a chance to battle it out for the leaders jersey, with a fast finish in front of Sultan Qaboos University.

Stage 2 Wed February 14 - Sultan Qaboos University to Al Bustan, 167.5 km

Stage two’s route covers hillier terrain well suited to the punchers, the stage could see a breakway or lots of attacks.

Stage 3 Thu February 15 - University of Technology to Wadi Dayqah Dam, 179.5 km

Starting from the German University of Technology to Wadi Dayqah Dam, it includes the final climb that is 800 metres high with gradients of  10 per cent

Stage 4 Fri February 16 - Jebel Sifah Resort to Ministry of Tourism, 117.5 km

A rolling short stage of 117 km which could finish in a bunch sprint or a breakawsy.

Stage 5 Sat February 17 - Sama il to Jabal Al Akhdhar, 152 km

The Queen Stage of the Tour of Oman has finished with the ascent of Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) for the last seven editions, and this tradition will continue. The 5.7 km climb averages at 10.5 per cent, and the eventual winner could well be decided on it slopes.

Stage 6 Sun February 18 - The Wave Muscat to Matrah Corniche, 130.5 km

Another sprinters stage, one for the fast men, the stage finishes at Matrah Corniche.

VIDEO: 2018 Tour of Oman Teaser

2018 Teams and Riders Confirmed (so far)

ASTANA PRO TEAM – AST (KAZ)

1.Angel Miguel LOPEZ
2.Alexey LUTSENKO
3.Tanel KANGERT
4.Omar FRAILE

BAHRAIN MERIDA – TBM (BRN)

1.Vincenzo NIBALI
2.Franco PELLIZOTTI
3.Manuele BOARO
4.Antonio NIBALI
5.Gorka IZAGUIRRE
6.Kristijan KOREN

BMC RACING TEAM – BMC (USA)

1.Alberto Bettiol
2.Jempy Drucker
3.Nicolas Roche
4.Michael Schär
5.Greg Van Avermaet
6.Nathan Van Hooydonck
7.Francisco Ventoso

QUICK – STEP FLOORS – QST (BLG)

1.Dries DEVENYNS
2.Niki TERSPTRA

TEAM DIMENSION DATA – DDD (RSA)

1.Merhawi KUDUS
2.Lachlan MORTON
3.Ryan GIBBONS
4.Natnael BERHANE

TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN – KAT (SUI)

1.Ian BOSWELL
2.Nathan HAAS
3.Baptiste PLANCKAERT
4.Nils PILITT
5.Steff CRAS

TEAM SUNWEB – SUN (GER)

1.Soren Kragh ANDERSEN
2.Roy CURVERS
3.Michael STORER
4.Edward THEUNS
5.Albert TIMMER
6.Martijn WALSCHEID

UAE TEAM EMIRATES – UAD (UAE)

1.Alexander KRISTOFF
2.Rui FARIA DA COSTA
3.Diego ULISSI
4.Roberto FERRARI
5.Marco MARCATO

AQUA BLUE SPORT – ABS (IRL)

1.Adam BLYTHE
2.Christian MARK
3.Lawrence WARBASSE
4.Aaron GATE
5.Casper PEDERSON
6.Conor DUNE
7.Daniel PEARSON

COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS – COF (FRA)

1.Christophe LAPORTE
2.Dimitri CLAEYS
3.Anthony TURGIS
4.Anthony PEREZ
5.Mathias LE TURNIER

TEAM FORTUNEO – OSCARO – TOF (FRA)

1.Jéremy MAISON
2.Brice FEILLU
3.Anthony DELAPLACE
4.Elie GESBERT
5.Pierre-Luc PERICHON

CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA – CJR (ESP)

1.Yannis YSSAAD
2.Rafael REIS
3.Justin OIEN
4.Nick SCHULTZ
5.Fabricio FERRARI
6.Danilo CELANO
7.Joaquim SILVA

ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ – RNL (NED)

1.Pieter WEENING –
2.Nick VAN DER LIJKE –
3.Jeroen MEIJERS –
4.Taco VAN DER HOORN

SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE – SVB (BEL)

1.Piet ALLEGAERT
2.Amaury CAPIOT
3.Aimé DE GENDT
4.Benjamin DECLERCQ
5.Emiel PLANCKAERT
6.Maxime FARAZIJN
7.Jordi WARLOP

WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT – WGG (BEL)

1.Guillaume MARTIN
2.Odd EIKING
3.Fabien DOUBAY
4.Andrea PASQUALON

VITAL CONCEPT (FRA)

1.Bryan COQUARD
2.Kevin REZA
3.Quentin PACHER
4.Kris BOECKMANS
5.Bert DE BACKER

RALLY CYCLING (USA)

1.Robert BRITTON
2.Nigel ELLSAY
3.Danny PATE
4.Tyler MAGNER
5.Brandon MCNULTY
6.Kyle MURPHY
7.Eric YOUNG