February 18, 2014 (Oman) – Already a two-time winner on the Tour of Oman last year, André Greipel claimed stage 1 of the 2014 edition after a bunched sprint. The German champion did however have quite a scare when he found himself trapped in a dropped group in the last 25 kms of the race. The pack eventually bunched up again, before the 6-time Tour de France stage winner powered to glory, beating Howard and Ruffoni to the line and conquering the overall leader’s Red Jersey.

Wonderful weather conditions welcomed the riders of the Tour of Oman by the splendid As Suwayq Castle by the Sea of Oman, for the start of the first stage of this 5th edition. Feverish in the morning, struggling with flu, Frenchman Thibaut Pinot was sadly forced to retire from the race before even starting. 142 eventually took off for a 164.5-km stage all the way to Naseem Garden.

It only took a few hundred metres to see the first men attack as Van Hecke, Wallays (both TSV), Boem (BAR) and Bazzana (UHC) managed to breakaway from the pack. With the bunch not too concerned by the escapees, the gap grew rapidly reaching 2’15 at km 5 and then a maximum 5’35 at km 15 when the Lotto Belisol team decided to slowly take on the chase. At the top of the first climb of the day (Al Rustaq, km 56.5) claimed by Van Hecke ahead of Boem and Bazzana, the gap had dropped down to 4’05.

At the first intermediate sprint (km 78) won by Boem in front of Van Hecke and Bazzana, the pack remained 3’15 adrift. As teams Orica – Greenedge, FDJ.fr and Omega Pharma – Quickstep helped out in the chase the front men were caught at km 142. After a right turn, the pack, under the influence of the crosswind, broke up into several groups. Trapped behind were the likes of André Greipel (LTB) and Joaquin Rodrigues (KAT). The second bonus sprint (km 148) was claimed by Terpstra (OPQ) ahead of Van Hecke and Devolder (TFR) while the dropped group was 20″ behind.

Thankfully for the 30 riders behind, the pack slowed down and bunched up together again with ten kilometres to go. Time had therefore come for a massive sprint on the long straight by Naseem Garden. Already a winner of two stages last year in Oman, André Greipel powered again to glory. The German National champion and winner of 6 stages on the Tour de France beat Leigh Howard (OGE) and Nicola Ruffoni (BAR) to the line. Greipel who has already triumphed at the Tour Down Under (two stages) and the Tour of Qatar adds a fourth success to his 2014 victory list.

Added to his stage success, the sprinter from Lotto – Belisol conquers the overall leader’s Red Jersey. He also takes command of the points’ classification (Silver Jersey) while Howard becomes best young rider of the event (White jersey). Part of the long break of the day and thanks to the precious points he collected at the sprints and on the climb, Preben Van Hecke captures the most-aggressive rider’s jersey (White with green and red dots).

Results

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 4:03:31
2. Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
3. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF
4. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Fdj.fr
5. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
6. Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
7. Barry Markus (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
8. Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
10. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
11. Filippo Fortin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
12. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
13. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
14. Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
15. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
16. Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
17. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Team Sky
18. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale
19. Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
20. Robert Förster (Ger) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
21. Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team Netapp-Endura
22. Dominik Nerz (Ger) BMC Racing Team
23. Sam Bennett (Irl) Team Netapp-Endura
24. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Team Sky
25. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
26. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
27. Arthur Vanoverberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
28. Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
29. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Belisol
30. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo
31. Frantisek Padour (Cze) Team Netapp-Endura
32. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
33. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Fdj.fr
34. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
35. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
36. Gregory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing
37. John Murphy (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
38. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica GreenEdge
39. Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
40. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek Factory Racing
41. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Belisol
42. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
43. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale
44. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale
45. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
46. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale
47. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Tinkoff-Saxo
48. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge
49. William Bonnet (Fra) Fdj.fr
50. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
51. Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Fdj.fr
52. Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Esp) Team Sky
53. Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
54. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Team Sky
55. Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
56. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
57. Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
58. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol
59. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) Trek Factory Racing
60. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol
61. Sébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM Cycling
62. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) Trek Factory Racing
63. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
64. Martin Elmiger (Sui) IAM Cycling
65. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
66. Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) IAM Cycling
67. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
68. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team
69. Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Fdj.fr
71. Evan Huffman (USA) Astana Pro Team
72. Kevin Ista (Bel) IAM Cycling
73. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
74. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team
75. Marc Demaar (Ned) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
76. Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Netapp-Endura
77. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
78. Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
79. Lucas Euser (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
80. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol
81. Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
82. David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Esp) Team Netapp-Endura
83. Andy Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
84. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Team Katusha
85. Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Netapp-Endura
86. Karsten Kroon (Ned) Tinkoff-Saxo
87. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
88. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Orica GreenEdge
89. Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team Netapp-Endura
90. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
91. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
92. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
93. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Team Katusha
94. Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Esp) Team Katusha
95. Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani CSF
96. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
97. Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
98. Marcel Aregger (Sui) IAM Cycling
99. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale
100. Stefano Locatelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
101. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Sky
102. Stef Clement (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
103. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
104. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
105. Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Fdj.fr
106. Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
107. Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF
108. Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Team Katusha
109. Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale
110. Paolo Colonna (Ita) Bardiani CSF
111. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling
112. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
113. Johann Tschopp (Sui) IAM Cycling
114. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Trek Factory Racing
115. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
116. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge
117. Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Team Katusha
118. Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky
119. Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team Netapp-Endura
120. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
121. Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
122. Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
123. Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol
124. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale
125. Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
126. Aldo Ino Ilesic (Slo) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:00:15
127. Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica GreenEdge
128. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
129. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Team Katusha
130. Robert Wagner (Ger) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
131. Christopher Jones (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
132. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
133. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Cannondale 0:00:19
134. Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:00:29
135. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:31
136. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:35
137. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team 0:00:50
138. Jetse Bol (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
139. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
140. Laurent Mangel (Fra) Fdj.fr
141. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:18
142. Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:16
DNS Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Fdj.fr