Second day of racing in Oman… but first stage of the national Tour this Saturday. The day after the Muscat Classic, the riders began the Arabian Peninsula’s event with a day for sprinters. Olav Kooij logically claimed victory while the entire Groupama-FDJ finished in the peloton, with David Gaudu even picking up a bonus second along the way. Sunday, a punchy finish will be on the table.
A tough climb did feature on the day’s route, this Saturday, in the opening stage of the Tour of Oman. Yet, it was located after only twelve kilometres, and therefore couldn’t ruin the sprinters’ plans in any way over the 177 kilometres leading to Bimmah Sink Hole. Five men took advantage of the hilly start to break away, and then managed to take a maximum lead of around six minutes. The peloton was never in trouble, however, and naturally came closer in the second half of the route, while Groupama-FDJ were keeping their positions at the front of the pack. The breakaway eventually got caught twenty-five kilometres from the finish. “It was the kind of day we expected,” said Thierry Bricaud. “It was supposed to finish with a bunch sprint, and that’s what happened. On top of that, David grabbed a bonus second in the final, in the intermediate sprint, and that may not be insignificant for the rest of the race. It’s a good day.”
“Tom will have an opportunity,” Thierry Bricaud
The French team also went through the final safely while the sprint was won by the Dutchman Olav Kooij, favourite at the start this morning. Enzo Paleni was the first Groupama-FDJ rider to cross the line, in twenty-second position, and all his teammates also finished within the winner’s time. Thanks to the bonus second collected, David Gaudu sits already in fifth position in the general classification, while a hill-top finish is looming on Sunday at Yitti Hills. “It will be a more difficult stage with a punchy final where we should be a little more active than today,” predicted Thierry. “We saw that Tom was doing well on this type of effort on Friday in the Muscat Classic (5th, editor’s note), so he’ll surely have an opportunity.”
