Andersen powers to glory
February 16 th 2017 - 15:37
There was a very festive atmosphere this morning at the start of stage 3 of the Tour of Oman set at the Sultan Qaboos University. Welcomed by the students proud to present their photography exhibition of Oman and their splendid cycling paintings, created live, the 141 riders gathered together for the start of the 162-km stage heading to Quriyat. After waving goodbye to the University and the dozen thoroughbred stallions that also had a taste of the show, it was time to race.
It only took six kilometres for 6 riders to break away from the pack: Brammeier (ABS), Feng (TBM), Van Lerberghe (SVB), Mannion (UHC), Kuboki (NIP) and Sisr (CCC). After enjoying a 4' lead, the gap started dropping as team BMC of Red jersey, Ben Hermans, took command of the pack. At the top of the first climb of the day (Bousher Al Amerat, km 33) where Kuboki captured the most points ahead of Van Lerberghe and Brammeier, the pack remained 2'20'' adrift. Again the gap grew to 4' before dropping to 3' once at the first intermediate sprint (km 81) claimed by Van Lerberghe ahead of Kuboki and Sisr.
The front six continued their progression towards Quriyat heading south-west, clear from the pack but within control. At the second bonus sprint (km 139.5), won by Sisr in front of Van Lerberghe and Kuboki, the pack had moved closer, only 50'' adrift. While Brammeier was the first to be dropped and caught, the remaining five leading riders hung on before they were gobbled up by the peloton with 17kms remaining.
On the final climb just on the outskirts of Quriyat, Julian Arredondo (NIP) was the first to give it a go in the last 2kms. He was soon caught and distanced by Laurens De Plus (QST) who could enjoy a 8'' lead with only 1 kilometre to go. The Belgian remained alone in front in the closing moments but was caught by the group of favourites including 30 men. Like on the previous day, timing was essential, as Soren Kragh Andersen (SUN) powered to the finish. The Danish victoriously crossed the line beating Rui Costa (UAD) and red jersey Ben Hermans (BMC). A fantastic performance by the young 22-year-old, clinching his first professional success after shining as an Under-23 rider with stage wins at the Tour de l'Avenir and the GC of the ZLM Tour.
Third on the day, Ben Hermans remains in the overall lead with a 2'' advantage over Rui Costa and 10'' over Jakob Fuglsang (AST). The Belgian also takes command of the points classification while Kudus keeps the best young rider's white jersey. Mark Christian also keeps the most agressive jersey on his shoulders.