February 15, 2012 (Wadi Dayqah Dam, Oman) – After an extremely eventful final part to the stage, Peter Sagan flew to victory. The Slovakian rider impressed on the hills around Wadi Dayqah Dam eventually beating Cooke and Slagter to the line. Sagan captures the overall leader’s red jersey.

On day Two of the Tour of Oman, the cyclists delayed their return to two wheels in order to take the National Ferry boat Shinaz down south to the historic port town of Sur where the 127 riders of the Tour of Oman were wonderfully welcomed in Sur for the start of stage 2. In perfect weather conditions they took off at 1.24pm for a 140.5 stage and rode across Al Ijah bridge to then race pass Nasmah, Sikekrah, Qalhat and Tiwi at speeds of over 42 km/ph. Hugging the coast for nearly 100 kilometres, the cyclists got a unique taste of the country as they sped through spectacularly empty, long and flat roads before being greeted by local dancers and children waving flags and cheering as they passed through the numerous villages on the route, leaving smiles on the faces all round and showcasing Omani hospitality to the world.

As soon as kilometre 8, Lodewijk (BMC) managed to break away from the peloton. HE was soon caught by three companions: Kohler (BMC), Boucher (FDJ) and Caccia (FAR). Their advantage went from 1′ at km 17 ot a max 3’40 at km 26, before dropping down. At the firs intermediate position (km31), claimed by Lodewijk (BMC) ahead of Caccia (FAR) and Kohler (BMCV), the gas was 3’30.
After nearly 100 kilometres, the peloton found themselves switching gear with their first climb just before the second bonus sprint (at km 103.5) which was again claimed by Lodewijk ahead of Caccia and Kohler, while the pack was still well in control of the escapees, some 2’45 adrift. The battle went on and the front riders wtill had a 2’25 lead with 20kms to go, and then 1’20, ten kilometres from the line.after passing the Sink Hole as they headed into Wadi Al Arbeiren and Al Lasmul before the race was won after another closely fought sprint finish here in Wadi Dayqah Dam.

Despite solo attempts from Kohler, the front men were finally caught with 4kms to go. While only the best managed to remain in the pack on the final hill climbs, Peter Sagan (LIQ), proved to be the strongest. The Slovakian was at the height of expectations, beating Baden Cooke (GEC) and Tom Slagter (RAB) to the line, which was packed with crowds who had come down to the awe inspiring Wadi Dayqah Dam to watch the race unfold. The overall leader’s red jersey switches shoulders and goes to Sagan who also claims the White jersey for the best young rider The fighting spirt Jersey (red / green squares) goes to Lodewijk (BMC).

The prize giving ceremony took place overlooking the dam with the Al Hajar mountains rising as a magnificent backdrop to the festivities. The Guest of Honour, Dr Amar Al Rawas, CEO Omantel stated of the occasion ” The Whole ambience is one of celebration, not only for the winners, but also for everyone who was here. The experience, the scenery, the water and the mountains combined with the fact there are so many people from different ages including lots of kids who are at the age who will be inspired by these champions to achieve themselves in the future. This is now the 3rd edition of the tour and more and more people are enjoying cycling since the first edition which we were also proud sponsors of. This was my first visit to this stunning area and I look forward to watching the next four stages.”

Results

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:10:44
2. Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
3. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan
5. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin – Barracuda
6. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
7. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
8. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan
9. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 0:04
10. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
11. Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor 0:06
12. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Katusha Team
13. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:09
14. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
15. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:13
16. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team
17. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
18. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
19. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team
20. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
21. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
22. Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
23. Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
24. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:17
25. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
26. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:22
27. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:23
28. David Millar (GBR) Garmin – Barracuda 0:27
29. Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team
30. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team
31. Alex Coutts (GBR) RTS Racing Team
32. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
33. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
34. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
35. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 0:31
36. Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
37. Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan
38. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
39. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
40. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
41. Ian Stannard (GBR) Sky Procycling
42. Luke Rowe (GBR) Sky Procycling
43. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:35
44. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
45. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
46. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:39
47. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan
48. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
49. Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Project 1t4i
50. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
51. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team 0:43
52. Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor 0:46
53. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
54. Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1t4i
55. Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1t4i
56. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan
57. Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor 0:52
58. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
59. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team
60. Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling 0:54
61. Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Barracuda 1:02
62. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin – Barracuda
63. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:03
64. Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
65. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
66. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
67. David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team
68. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
69. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
70. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
71. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team
72. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
73. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
74. Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i
75. Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin – Barracuda
76. Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:08
77. Gregory Henderson (NZL) Lotto Belisol Team 1:14
78. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
79. Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia 1:16
80. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:17
81. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
82. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:26
83. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
84. Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat 1:34
85. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1t4i 1:52
86. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i
87. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
88. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC Racing Team
89. Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
90. David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
91. Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:03
92. Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
93. Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team 3:29
94. Lee Rodgers (GBR) RTS Racing Team 3:30
95. Mark Cavendish (GBR) Sky Procycling
96. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
97. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team
98. Jérémy Hunt (GBR) Sky Procycling
99. Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
100. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
101. Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia 4:03
102. William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 4:24
103. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team 4:41
104. Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor
105. Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
106. Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin – Barracuda
107. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat
108. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team
109. Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team
110. Clinton Avery (NZL) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
111. Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team
112. Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1t4i
113. Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team
114. Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team
115. Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
116. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Project 1t4i
117. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
118. Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
119. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
120. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
121. Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team 4:47
122. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
123. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
124. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 4:49
125. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 5:41
126. Wang Chung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team 5:59
127. Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team 16:17

GC after Stage 2
1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 6:36:43
2. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 0:04
3. Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:07
4. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:09
5. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:10
6. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan
7. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
8. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan 0:13
9. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin – Barracuda
10. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17
11. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Katusha Team 0:19
12. Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor
13. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:22
14. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
15. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:26
16. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team
17. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
18. Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
19. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
20. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
21. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team
22. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
23. Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
24. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:30
25. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
26. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:32
27. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:36
28. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Barracuda 0:37
29. David Millar (GBR) Garmin – Barracuda 0:40
30. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team
31. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
32. Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team
33. Alex Coutts (GBR) RTS Racing Team
34. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
35. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:41
36. Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan 0:44
37. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
38. Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
39. Luke Rowe (GBR) Sky Procycling
40. Ian Stannard (GBR) Sky Procycling
41. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:48
42. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
43. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
44. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:49
45. Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Project 1t4i 0:52
46. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan
47. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
48. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
49. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team 0:56
50. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 0:59
51. Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1t4i
52. Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
53. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
54. Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1t4i
55. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team 1:01
56. Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor 1:05
57. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
58. Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling 1:07
59. Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:10
60. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:13
61. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team 1:14
62. Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Barracuda 1:15
63. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin – Barracuda
64. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:16
65. David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team
66. Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin – Barracuda
67. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
68. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
69. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
70. Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
71. Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i
72. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
73. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
74. Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
75. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 1:21
76. Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
77. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:23
78. Gregory Henderson (NZL) Lotto Belisol Team 1:27
79. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
80. Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia 1:29
81. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:30
82. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
83. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 1:45
84. Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat 1:47
85. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1t4i 2:02
86. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 2:03
87. Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor 2:05
88. David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
89. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i
90. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
91. Adam Blythe (GBR) BMC Racing Team
92. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
93. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:40
94. Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team 3:42
95. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia 3:43
96. Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
97. Mark Cavendish (GBR) Sky Procycling
98. Lee Rodgers (GBR) RTS Racing Team
99. Jérémy Hunt (GBR) Sky Procycling
100. Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia 4:12
101. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team 4:45
102. Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor 4:49
103. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia 4:51
104. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
105. Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team 4:54
106. Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
107. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat
108. Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team
109. Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
110. Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
111. Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team
112. Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin – Barracuda
113. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team
114. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Project 1t4i
115. Clinton Avery (NZL) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
116. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 5:00
117. Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team
118. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
119. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 5:31
120. Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team 5:47
121. Wang Chung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team 6:12
122. Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1t4i 6:22
123. William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 6:50
124. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 8:07
125. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team 14:17
126. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 15:36
127. Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team 26:04