MUSCAT: The first stage of the 11th edition of the Tour of Oman begins at the Rustaq Fort on Thursday. Seventeen teams will battle it out for the honours from February 10 to 16 in the six stages across Oman which will cover a total distance of 890 km.
The spectacular topography and ideal weather conditions make Tour of Oman stand out from rest of the international cycling tours, according to Pierre-Yves Thouault, Deputy Cycling Director of Tour of Oman.
“Tour of Oman stands out from the rest of the races due its spectacular stages along the different terrains of the Sultanate of Oman,” Thouault said while unveiling the details of the 11th Tour of Oman in Muscat on Wednesday.
The stages offer chances for all types of cyclists whether sprinter, climber or classic racer, he said.
“The six stages of Tour of Oman have plenty of opportunities for all cyclists, whether they are specialists in sprinting, hill climbing or classic style. That is the specialty of the Oman stages. Not to speak about the breath-taking natural beauty of the country as well,” Thouault said.
Seventeen teams will battle it out for the honours from February 10 to 16 in the six stages across Oman which will cover a total distance of 890 km. The championship will offer a total prize money of 101,380 euros.
B&B Hotels KTM team pulled out of the race with four of their riders testing positive for Covid-19, reducing the total teams to 17 from originally scheduled 18.
Seven world teams, 8 professional sides, one continental team and one national squad will compete in the Tour.
THRILLING JOB
Course director Franck Perque said it was a thrilling job to design the stages.
“The country has lot of potential race points and spectacular topography which I tried to include in the stages. The six stages will offer new challenges for the riders with its variety of terrain under the spectacular backdrop of hills.”
“The stages are definitely designed to showcase the natural beauty of Oman and we hope the cyclists and spectators have a great time in the Sultanate of Oman.”
Oman Cycling Association (OCA) Chairman Saif al Rushaidi said the OCA is happy to bring back Tour of Oman after two years.
“We thank everybody responsible for the return of Tour of Oman to Muscat. It is our prestigious event and we are happy to host it after two years.”
The top rider in the general individual time classification will get red jersey, topper in points classification will get green jersey, best young rider will grab white jersey and the gold jersey will go to the best aggressive rider. Trophies and prize money will be given in team classification also. The individual time classification winner will take home a purse of 11,000 euros.
Kazakhstan’s Alexey Lutsenko won the last race in 2019 clocking 21 hr 45 minutes and 51 seconds.
PAST WINNERS
2010 Fabian CANCELLARA (SUI)
2011 Robert GESINK (NED)
2012 Peter VELITS (SVK)
2013 Christopher FROOME (GBR)
2014 Christopher FROOME (GBR)
2015 Rafael VALLS FERRI (ESP)
2016 Vicenzo NIBALI (ITA)
2017 Ben HERMANS (BEL)
2018 Alexey LUTSENKO (KAZ)
2019 Alexey LUTSENKO (KAZ)
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
