Cav' Posted February 13, 2017 Share The international peloton will hit the roads of the Sultanate of Oman from February 14th to the 19th for a first opportunity to tackle some difficult climbs and feel how good the legs are. In between two sprinter-friendly stages, the puncheurs will have several chances to surprise the peloton. Most importantly for the GC, the Green Mountain summit finish, coming on the eve of the final stage in Muscat, will leave some climbers bursting with confidence and some filled with doubt. At this point in the season, foundations must be solid. The leaders and their team mates put in the all-important training during the winter break, increased specific training sessions and for some returned to action. Now come the first confrontations on the road that can give an idea of what is to come this year. The Tour of Oman has become a favourite event where riders can build and specify their ambitions. Around the capital city of Muscat, following the Gulf of Oman coastline to the west as well as the east or even through mountains and back-country areas, the roads of the Sultanate offer a variety that is welcome to classic stars and podium contenders of major tours. This early season race in Oman has become part of many riders’ calendar since 2010. http://i.imgur.com/pbAGgjN.pngOn the Muscat Corniche or Naseem Park, Tom Boonen and Alexander Kristoff could produce the first of many confrontations that will continue on just until Paris-Roubaix. They will probably defer to Olympic Champion Greg van Avermaet or Filippo Pozzato on the more difficult Al Bustan and Quriyat arrivals. The climbers will come into focus on the now traditional Jabal Al Akdhar stage, where the mountain specialists will have their opportunity to race for the overall win. Runner-up on the 2016 Tour de France, Romain Bardet will be the rider to beat. On the 5.7km final climb, he will have the opportunity to both test his 2017 legs, but also the cohesion with his new Swiss team mate, Mathias Frank. The leader of the AG2R squad will face strong opposition, especially from the defending champions Astana, with Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang. Promising Bob Jungels, who will most likely concentrate on the white jersey that he won last year (6th), will also pose a threat, as will Portugal’s Rui Costa, who has already ridden strong on Green Mountain (6th in 2015 and 5th in 2016), Columbia’s Janier Acevedo and Julian Arredondo. French hopeful, Guillaume Martin, will be out to show that the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team is holding its place among cycling’s elite. Stages of the 2017 Tour of Oman : Tuesday, February 14th — stage 1: Al Sawadi Beach > Naseem Park (176.5 km)http://i.imgur.com/GbgwABX.png Wednesday, February 15th — stage 2: Nakhal > Al Bustan (145.5 km)http://i.imgur.com/fHgFNOk.png Thursday, February 16th — stage 3: Sultan Qaboos University > Quriyat (162 km)http://i.imgur.com/o053nH7.png http://i.imgur.com/EkjrAf6.png Friday, February 17th — stage 4: Yiti (Al Sifah) > Ministry of Tourism (118 km)http://i.imgur.com/V6vpLBu.png Saturday, February 18th — stage 5: Samail > Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) (152.5 km)http://i.imgur.com/6O9wP3a.png http://i.imgur.com/CvH7Lhy.png Sunday, February 19th — stage 6: The Wave > Muttrah Corniche (130.5 km)http://i.imgur.com/CnpKnYS.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 13, 2017 Share Startlist: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 13, 2017 Share Astana Pro Team ARU, Fabio FOMINYKH, Daniil FUGLSANG, Jakob KANGERT, Tanel KOZHATAYEV, Bakhtiyar LUTSENKO, Alexey STALNOV, Nikita ZEITS, Andrey AG2R La Mondiale BARDET, Romain DOMONT, Axel ENGER, Sondre Holst FRANK, Mathias GOUGEARD, Alexis HOULE, Hugo NAESEN, Oliver BAGDONAS, Gediminas BMC Racing Team VAN AVERMAET, Greg DRUCKER, Jean-Pierre ELMIGER, Martin FRANKINY, Kilian HERMANS, Ben KÜNG, Stefan OSS, Daniel SCHAR, Michael Team Katusha - Alpecin KRISTOFF, Alexander HALLER, Marco HOLLENSTEIN, Reto KUZNETSOV, Viacheslav BIERMANS, Jenthe MØRKØV, Michael POLITT, Nils TAARAMÄE, Rein UAE Abu Dhabi COSTA, Rui AIT EL ABDIA, Anass FERRARI, Roberto KUMP, Marko MARCATO, Marco MIRZA, Yousef Mohamed MODOLO, Sacha ZURLO, Federico Quick-Step Floors BOONEN, Tom CAPECCHI, Eros DE LA CRUZ, David DE PLUS, Laurens JUNGELS, Bob KEISSE, Iljo LAMPAERT, Yves TERPSTRA, Niki Dimension Data DEBESAY, Mekseb FARRAR, Tyler HAAS, Nathan KUDUS, Merhawi MORTON, Lachlan REGUIGUI, Youcef SBARAGLI, Kristian THOMSON, Jay Robert Aqua Blue Sport BLYTHE, Adam BRAMMEIER, Matthew CHRISTIAN, Mark DENIFL, Stefan FENN, Andrew HANSEN, Lasse Norman PEARSON, Daniel WARBASSE, Larry Team Sunweb ANDERSEN, Søren Kragh CURVERS, Roy DE BACKER, Bert SINKELDAM, Ramon STAMSNIJDER, Tom TEUNISSEN, Mike WAEYTENS, Zico WALSCHEID, Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 13, 2017 Share Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team VISCONTI, Giovanni AGNOLI, Valerio BOLE, Grega COLBRELLI, Sonny FENG, Chun Kai GRMAY, Tsgabu BOZIC, Borut WANG, Meiyin Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise VAN HECKE, Preben DECLERCQ, Benjamin DE GENDT, Aime NOPPE, Christophe ALLEGAERT, Piet STEELS, Stijn VAN GESTEL, Dries VAN LERBERGHE, Bert Wanty - Groupe Gobert ANTONINI, Simone DEHAES, Kenny DOUBEY, Fabien KREDER, Wesley LEVARLET, Guillaume MARTIN, Guillaume NAPOLITANO, Danilo STENUIT, Robin UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team ACEVEDO, Janier Alexis CATAFORD, Alexander CLARKE, Jonathan EATON, Daniel HAEDO, Lucas Sebastian JONES, Chris MANNION, Gavin NORRIS, Lachlan Nippo - Vini Fantini ARREDONDO, Julián David BAGIOLI, Nicola CANOLA, Marco GROSU, Eduard Michael KUBOKI, Kazushige MARANGONI, Alan SANTAROMITA, Ivan UCHIMA, Kohei CCC Sprandi Polkowice KACZMAREK, Jakub KUREK, Adrian MIHAYLOV, Nikolay PALUTA, Michal PONZI, Simone SAMOILAU, Branislau SISR, Frantisek STOSZ, Patryk Wilier Triestina POZZATO, Filippo ANDRIATO, Rafael BELLETTI, Manuel CECCHIN, Alberto FONZI, Giuseppe KOSHEVOY, Ilia MARECZKO, Jakub MOSCA, Jacopo Delko Marseille Provence KTM DIAZ, Daniel FERNANDEZ, Delio GIRAUD, Benjamin HUPOND, Thierry ANDERSEN, Asbjørn Kragh LAAS, Martin RODRIGUEZ, John Anderson WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect DERUETTE, Thomas HABEAUX, Gregory JANS, Roy MASSON, Christophe PARDINI, Olivier PEYSKENS, Dimitri SPENGLER, Lukas STASSEN, Julien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted February 13, 2017 Share Love it, Cav'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shell Belle Posted February 13, 2017 Share Awesome!! Is this going to be televised or can we stream it somewhere? (my tech skills are not really all that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 13, 2017 Share Awesome!! Is this going to be televised or can we stream it somewhere? (my tech skills are not really all that)Look here:http://www.cyclinghub.tv/livestream2 or here:http://www.cyclingfans.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 14, 2017 Share http://i.imgur.com/C12MnIH.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe3nguin Posted February 14, 2017 Share Forking love this race. Steephill should have a stream up later. Will post it if it is any good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 14, 2017 Share Average speed after 3 hours: 46.733km/h Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe3nguin Posted February 14, 2017 Share Old man stays in Muscat, officials have confirmed: No live coverage again this year.The official twitter account is the best we can do I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 14, 2017 Share 20km to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted February 14, 2017 Share Old man stays in Muscat, officials have confirmed: No live coverage again this year. The official twitter account is the best we can do I guess.Indeed, no coverage. You'd think with all the money in the middle east they'd make a plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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