Boasson Hagen confirms leadership 1

February 16 ^th 2010 - 17:48

126 riders at the start; 16 teams
Perfect weather

The 126 riders of the Tour of Oman gathered by the sea at Saifat Ash Shiekh, south of Muscat, for the start of stage 3. In splendid hilly landscapes, the pack took off for a 124 km ride. After only a kilometre, young Benjamin King (TLS) broke away and his lead increased: from 40” at km 3 to 2’50 at km 9. Three other riders then took off on a counter-attack: Smukulis (ALM), Westra (VAC), Mangel (SAU) At km 21, the front men still had a 2’30 lead over the three-man group and 4’30 over the pack. King was finally caught by the counter-attackers at km 45 just after leaving Muscat while the pack remained 2’20 adrift.

The  four front riders reached the first intermediate sprint (km 46.5) with a 2’40 lead as Westra beat Smukulis and Mangel for the most points and bonus seconds. The gap then started increasing again (3’25 at kilometre 54) before gradually dropping as the Sky riders took command of the bunch.

At the second bonus sprint claimed by Smukulis ahead of King and Westra, the pack moved closer, at 2’05. With 20 kilometres to go, the leading men still had a 1’35 advantage. On the climb up the Qurayyat hill (1.9 kms long at 6.5%), King was the first to get caught, soon followed by Smukulis and Westra. Mangel carried on alone in the lead, but he too was finally caught at km 110.

As the climb continued, several riders were dropped from the pack and just under a hundred riders headed downhill towards Qurayyat and the finish line. In the final kilometres, the Quick Step team picked up the pace for their leader Tom Boonen, but Team Sky was also eager to give Boasson Hagen every chance of winning.

As things turned out, the young Norwegian blasted across the line in first place, capturing his first victory in Oman. Napolitano (KAT) and Farrar (GRM) had to settle for second and third spots while Boonen finished fourth. Boasson Hagen keeps command of the overall leader’s red jersey and increases his lead to 10” over Farrar and Bennati (LIQ). He also leads the points and best young rider standings. Present in two breakaways since the start of the event, Lieuwe Westra captures the red, white and green jersey for the most aggressive rider.