Cycling: Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) confirmed his very good early form with his second victory of the day in the final stage of the Tour of Oman. It was already the second stage victory in the desert tour for the Norwegian, who seems well prepared for the classic season that is about to start. The overall victory goes to Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), who confidently defended his lead and crossed the finish line with the peloton.
The 2016 Tour of Oman ended with an exclamation mark from Katusha pro Alexander Kristoff. The 28-year-old Norwegian triumphed in Matra Corniche after a strong performance over the entire tour - but for those who have followed Kristoff's career so far, that shouldn't matter much be surprising. The Milan - Sanremo winner from 2014 is known for his strong early form and in 2016 the beefy Katusha pro seems to belong to the inner circle of favorites for the upcoming classics again.
"I was already doing very well in this phase last season and I've managed to do that now - I think I'm on the right track," Kristoff was optimistic about himself. Rightly so, because last year he had to settle for second place at Milan - Sanremo, but the 2015 winner John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) has to do without his beloved classics after the bad training accident. Victory in the classic on March 19 should therefore only go to the Norwegian.
The overall victory in Oman went to Vincenzo Nibali, who, unlike day winner Kristoff, is not exactly known for his early form. In recent years, the Italian has always had to deal with more or less major starting difficulties in the first aid to the season - with his overall victory in Oman and above all his dominant performance in the difficult queen stage on Friday, where he finished on Green Mountain Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) didn't stand a chance, the 2014 Tour de France winner seems to have overcome these problems.
"I'm feeling very good at the moment and a win so early in the season is always a great feeling," said Nibali, pleased about the successful start to the cycling year 2016. German road champion Emanuel Buchmann and his team Bora- Argon 18. The 23-year-old Buchmann is in 12th place, 2:30 behind the winner Nibali, the best German in the overall ranking and his team can be happy about rank 5 in the team ranking, even if a day's win didn't work out.
Tour of Oman 2016 Appreciation
| Driver | Country | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy | Astana | 22:25:25 |
| 2. | Romain Bardet | France | AG2R-La Mondaile | 00:00:15 |
| 3. | Jakob Fuglsang | Denmark | Astana | 00:00:24 |
| 4. | Tom Dumoulin | Netherlands | Giant-Alpecin | 00:00:40 |
| 5. | Rui Costa | Portugal | Lampre Merida | 00:00:54 |
| 6. | Evald Boasson Hagen | Norway | Dimension Data | 00:01:06 |
| 7. | Brendan Canty | Australia | Drapac Professional Cycling | 00:01:31 |
| 8. | Dominic Pozzo alive | Italy | AG2R-La Mondiale | 00:01:38 |
| 9. | Merhawi Kudus | Eritrea | Dimension Data | 00:01:56 |
| 10 | Gianluca Brambilla | Italy | Etixx - Quick Step | 00:01:59 |