Kristoff, the expert of the Matrah Corniche

February 18 ^th 2018 - 15:56 [GMT + 4]

One, two, and now three victories in a row for Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) on the final stage of the Tour of Oman, traditionally set on the Matrah Corniche! At the end of a sixth stage tackled at a blazing speed, the European champion dominated the final gallop ahead of Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept Cycling Club) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) on Sunday. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Pro Team) safely finished with the bunch to claim the overall victory in this ninth edition of the Tour of Oman. His teammate Miguel Angel Lopez and Bahrain-Merida’s Gorka Izagirre join him on the overall podium.

It took 7km of battle for the breakaway to shape up with some usual suspects. Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step Floors), Maxime Farazijn (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Xandro Meurisse (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Pim Ligthart (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) and Fabricio Ferrari (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) have all already been at the front this week. They enjoyed a lead of 4’40” after 19km of racing.

Cavagna puts on a show

Team Dimension Data and Vital Concept Cycling Club got into action to control the gap. 50 kilometres into the stage, the breakaway’s lead was at 3’50”. It steadily decreased with Trek-Segafredo and Katusha-Alpecin also participating in the chase. It was down to 1’15” when the race entered the final circuit on the Matrah Corniche, with three laps of 7.5km.

Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step Floors) proved to be the strongest in the break, soloing away from his former companions 10km from the finish. He managed to open a 45” gap as he got into the final lap but was eventually reeled in with 3km to go. The perfect timing for Alexander Kristoff to power to victory. The Norwegian wins his eighth stage at Oman, a record. Alexey Lutsenko kept up with the pack to claim the overall victory.