Ready for battle
February 1 st 2018 - 15:48
February, right in the middle of the Omani winter, sees the mercury rise to almost 30 degrees both on the coast and further inland. It is an ideal dry run for the European summer, when several of the major races of the season take place. The varied terrain gives riders of all sorts the opportunity to test their legs ahead of their objectives —some closer, some still far away—, with classics riders focused on early spring.
Stage 1 will see pure sprinters go head-to-head for victory in a dash for the line in front of Sultan Qaboos University. Mark Cavendish, back in the Tour of Oman, is a major contender for the win, but he will face competition from Nacer Bouhanni, who has already tasted victory on the roads of Oman (2013), as well as race newcomer Bryan Coquard. Alexander Kristoff, no stranger to victory in Oman with seven stage wins under his belt, is likely to be in the mix as well. However, the jagged terrain of the next few stages is an even better fit for the Norwegian, who will face Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet in a clash of titans.
The penultimate stage finishes on Green Mountain, a 5.7 km climb that has traditionally decided the overall win and boasts an average gradient of 10.5%. Victory is all but certain to fall to climbers such as Vincenzo Nibali, who has already tamed this mountain twice (2012 and 2016), and the new Colombian star, Miguel Ángel "Superman" López, as well as former world champion Rui Costa, who never fails to show good form on the testing climb in Oman.
18 teams, main contenders
South Africa
Team Dimension: Data Cavendish (GBR) and Kudus (ERI)
Germany
Team Sunweb: Kragh Andersen (DEN) and Theuns (BEL)
Bahrain
Bahrain-Merida: V. Nibali (ITA) and G. Izagirre (ESP)
Belgium
Quick-Step Floors: Capecchi (ITA) and Terpstra (NED)
Wanty-Groupe Gobert: Eiking (NOR)
Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise: De Gendt (BEL)
United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates: Kristoff (NOR) and Costa (POR)
United States
BMC Racing Team: Van Avermaet (BEL), Bettiol (ITA) and Roche (IRL)
Trek–Segafredo: Felline (ITA)
Rally Cycling: Pate (USA)
Spain
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA: Yssaad (FRA) and Schultz (AUS)
France
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits: Bouhanni (FRA), Navarro and Herrada (ESP)
Team Fortuneo-Samsic: B. Feillu, Périchon and Vachon (FRA)
Vital Concept Cycling Club: Coquard and Morice (FRA)
Ireland
Aqua Blue Sport: Blythe and Fenn (GBR)
Kazakhstan
Astana Pro Team: López (COL), Kangert (EST) and Lutsenko (KAZ)
Netherlands
Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij: Ligthart and Weening (NED)
Switzerland
Team Katusha Alpecin: Haas (AUS)