The Gorilla also roars in Oman. André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) has won the first stage of the Tour of Oman. After 150 kilometers from As Suwayq Castle to Naseem Garden, he prevailed in a bunch sprint Leigh Howard (Orica GreenEdge) and Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF) through
Greipel was confidently launched by his teammates on the home stretch. The teams of the other sprinters had also shown themselves to be active beforehand, chasing the leading group To bring back Preben van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen), Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF) and Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare). The quartet broke away after ten kilometers of racing and in the meantime had a lead of 4:50 minutes.
In the meantime, however, it hadn't looked like a win for the Rostocker. When the teams organized the tracking work, the field divided. With the help of his teammates, Greipel was only able to catch up with the leaders in the last few kilometers. The day's win also gave him the lead in the overall standings. Since Van Hecke was able to win the first mountain classification, he is now ahead in this classification.
Result
1. André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) 4:03:31
2. Leigh Howard (Orica GreenEdge) 0:00:00
3. Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF) 0:00:00
Total
1. André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) 4:03:31
2. Leigh Howard (Orica GreenEdge) 0:00:04
3. Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF) 0:00:06