Nizzolo to cap it off
February 21 st 2019 - 15:08 [GMT + 4]
Giacomo Nizzolo (Dimension Data) dominated a fast and furious final stage of the 2019 Tour of Oman in a super tight sprint. The Italian sprinter snatched the win on the Matrah Corniche just ahead of this compatriots Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) and Davide Ballerini (Astana). Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) made it safely to the line to claim his second overall victory in the race, a feat only achieved by Chris Froome before him. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) had to abandon.
A pack of 118 riders start stage 6 without Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Team Emirates). The battle for the break is a hard one. Nathan van Hooydonck (CCC Pro Team) gets away at km 3 and counterattacks fly behind him until three riders join him after 17 km of hard racing: Stijn Vandenbergh (AG2r-La Mondiale), Adam De Vos (Rally UHC Cycling) and Alexis Guérin (Delko Marseille Provence).
The four attackers cover 43 km in the first hour of racing but Direct Énergie, Bahrain-Merida, Arkéa-Samsic and Vital Concept-B&B Hotels quickly take the reins of the peloton. The gap doesn’t get higher than 3’30” and quickly stabilises around 2’30”.
Kristoff and Pozzovivo go down
Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), who dominated the last three stage finishes on the Matrah Corniche, abandons after a crash ahead of the climb of Al Hamriyah (km 83.5). Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) also goes down but he is able to get on his bike and inside the pack with severe abrasions. Alexis Guérin dominates this climb as well as the intermediate sprint (km 97) and the climb of Al Jissah (km 100.5).
The gap gets down under 1 minute as the riders enter the final circuit, a 7.5-km loop to cover three times.The attackers are eventually reeled in with 3 km to go with Direct Énergie working at the front of the bunch. The red jersey Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) tries to set the sprint but Giacomo Nizzolo (Dimension Data) finds his opening ahead of Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) and Davide Ballerini (Astana).
