Tour of Oman stage 1

Photo: AFP

Oh-man Oman got off to a bumpy start.  First of all the rider's bikes were not at the start when the teams arrived.  Riders transferred from the host hotel and the bikes were supposed to be delivered to the start by truck BEFORE the riders.  Racing got underway about and hour later than anticipated.  Then at the end of the 158k stage race a spectator ended up in the road and caused mass chaos for the riders going at it for the sprint.  Theo Bos seemed to find the right seam, but had Cav on his wheel.  Cav made a move to come around but Bos had the edge in the bike throw at the line.

Some notable first starts of the season included Taylor Phinney's(BMC) 19th place.  Taylor probably would have had a better finish if it had not been for the unfortunate maneuvering around a confused spectator.  Thor Hushovd finished in 57th for his first one of the new season.

Photo: © Stephen Farrand

Should be interesting to see how this race unfolds, there are an impressive amount of Classics riders here getting their form in the nice sun and warmth.  Cav looks like he might be healing nicely after the TDU and Qatar.  Hushovd will improve daily, and I would suspect once he gets his legs Garmelo will try to set him up for a stage or two.  With guys like Haussler, Hammond, Klier, and Van Summeren setting him up it will be fun to watch.  How many times do I have to say it?  Classics.  In the words of Austin "yeah! baby! yeah!".

Missing from the top ten were Haussler(14th), Bennati(17th), and Boonen(23rd).

1 Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:38:29
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad
3 Roger Kluge (Ger) Skil - Shimano
4 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
5 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team
6 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ
7 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD
8 Russell Downing (GBr) Sky Procycling
9 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Quickstep Cycling Team
10 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling