February 16, 2012 (Muscat Heights) – On a fairly calm day that ended in a bunched sprint, Marcel Kittel powered to stage victory, showing what a promising rider he is. The German beat Greipel and Bouhanni to the line. The overall leader’s Red Jersey returns to another German, André Greipel.

Splendid weather conditions as well as more of the Sultanate’s outstanding landscapes welcomed the 127 riders of the Tour of Oman at the start of stage 3, south-west of Muscat, at Al Awabi. The pack  took off  at midday through canyons, river beds and palm trees for a 144.5km race back to the capital Muscat.  Speeding past apricot and peach plantations, four men managed to take off on a break at only 3 kilometres from the start line: Isaychev (KAT), Hulsmans (FAR), Clarke (CSS) and Lemair (BGT). Their lead grew rapidly to 2’15 at km 7.5 and reached a maximum 3’45 at km 25.

At the first intermediate sprint (km 42.5) just before the historical 17th century Nakhal Fort, maximum points were claimed by Isaychev ahead of Lemair and Hulsmans and the gap had dropped down to 3’15. Like on the previous day the sprinters’ teams remained within shooting distance of the escapees, never getting to close but however not letting the gap go up too much. At the second bonus sprint (km 83.5) at Barka, won again by Isaychev in front of Clarke and Lemair, the pack remained 3’10 adrift.

Leaving the dramatic Jebel Akdhar Mountains behind them for the speed of the new Muscat Expressway, the leading four could still count on a 1’10 advantage with only 20kms to go, but they were to be caught with four kilometres remaining. Like on day one, the stage ended in a bunched sprint. Already a winner on European soil this winter, Marcel Kittel captured stage victory, beating Greipel and Bouhanni. The overall leader’s Red jersey changes shoulders again and returns to those of Germany’s Greipel. Peter Sagan keeps the White jersey for the best young rider. The fighting-spirit jersey returns on  the shoulders of Frenchman Lemair.

Results

1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1t4i  3:23:00
2. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
3. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
4. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
5. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
6. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
7. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
8. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Sky Procycling
9. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
10. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin – Barracuda
11. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team
12. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
13. Adam Blythe (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
14. Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1t4i
15. Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i
16. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
17. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
18. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
19. Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
20. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
21. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i
22. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
23. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
24. David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
25. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
26. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team
27. Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
28. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan
29. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
30. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan
31. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
32. Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
33. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
34. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
35. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
36. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
37. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
38. Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
39. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
40. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
41. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
42. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
43. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
44. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan
45. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
46. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
47. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
48. Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
49. Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
50. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
51. Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor
52. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
53. Gregory Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Belisol Team
54. Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
55. Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Barracuda
56. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
57. Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
58. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Katusha Team
59. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan
60. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
61. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
62. Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
63. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
64. Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team
65. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team  0:00:08
66. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin – Barracuda
67. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
68. Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
69. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team
70. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team
71. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
72. Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan
73. David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team
74. Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Project 1t4i
75. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
76. Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
77. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
78. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:00:26
79. Clinton Avery (Nzl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
80. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team
81. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
82. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
83. Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team
84. Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
85. Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team
86. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:00:30
87. Alex Coutts (Gbr) RTS Racing Team
88. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
89. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:00:32
90. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
91. Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin – Barracuda  0:00:34
92. Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:00:38
93. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin – Barracuda
94. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
95. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
96. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
97. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team
98. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
99. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Project 1t4i
100. Lee Rodgers (Gbr) RTS Racing Team
101. Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
102. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
103. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Sky Procycling
104. Jérémy Hunt (Gbr) Sky Procycling
105. Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team  0:00:50
106. Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team  0:01:03
107. Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1t4i
108. Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin – Barracuda
109. Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:01:05
110. Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
111. Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
112. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Sky Procycling
113. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:01:13
114. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat  0:01:18
115. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
116. Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat
117. Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling
118. Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team  0:01:47
119. Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor  0:02:16
120. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:02:24
121. Wang Chung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team
122. Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team
123. Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1t4i
124. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
125. William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:03:02
126. Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor
127. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:03:18

GC after Stage 3
1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team  9:59:41
2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:00:02
3. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat  0:00:08
4. Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:00:09
5. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  0:00:11
6. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:12
7. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
8. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:15
9. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin – Barracuda
10. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:19
11. Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor  0:00:21
12. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Katusha Team
13. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:00:24
14. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
15. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team  0:00:28
16. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
17. Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
18. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
19. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
20. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
21. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
22. Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
23. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:00:32
24. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
25. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:00:34
26. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team  0:00:36
27. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Barracuda  0:00:39
28. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:00:43
29. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team  0:00:46
30. Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
31. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
32. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:00:50
33. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team
34. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:00:51
35. Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:54
36. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan
37. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:00:58
38. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
39. Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1t4i  0:01:01
40. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan
41. Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor
42. Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Project 1t4i  0:01:02
43. Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team  0:01:08
44. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:01:12
45. Alex Coutts (Gbr) RTS Racing Team
46. Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
47. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team  0:01:15
48. Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Barracuda  0:01:17
49. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  0:01:18
50. Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i
51. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
52. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
53. Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
54. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Barracuda  0:01:20
55. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
56. Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:01:24
57. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Sky Procycling
58. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin – Barracuda  0:01:25
59. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
60. David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team  0:01:26
61. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
62. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:01:28
63. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:01:29
64. Gregory Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Belisol Team
65. Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:01:31
66. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat  0:01:32
67. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
68. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor  0:01:37
69. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team  0:01:39
70. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin – Barracuda  0:01:40
71. Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team  0:01:41
72. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team  0:01:49
73. Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  0:01:50
74. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Sky Procycling  0:01:51
75. Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin – Barracuda  0:01:52
76. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1t4i  0:01:54
77. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:01:55
78. Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:01:56
79. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
80. Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1t4i  0:02:04
81. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i  0:02:07
82. David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
83. Adam Blythe (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
84. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
85. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
86. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team  0:02:13
87. Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling  0:02:27
88. Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor  0:02:33
89. Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:02:36
90. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling  0:03:05
91. Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat  0:03:07
92. Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor  0:03:23
93. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:03:42
94. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Sky Procycling  0:03:45
95. Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
96. Lee Rodgers (Gbr) RTS Racing Team  0:04:23
97. Jérémy Hunt (Gbr) Sky Procycling
98. Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team  0:04:34
99. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team  0:04:47
100. Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:04:52
101. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:04:53
102. Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
103. Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan  0:04:56
104. Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team
105. Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:05:04
106. Clinton Avery (Nzl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:05:22
107. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:05:28
108. Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team
109. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
110. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team  0:05:33
111. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Project 1t4i  0:05:34
112. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:05:40
113. Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team  0:05:53
114. Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin – Barracuda  0:05:59
115. Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:06:01
116. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat  0:06:14
117. Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team  0:06:43
118. Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:06:54
119. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia  0:07:02
120. Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor  0:07:50
121. Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1t4i  0:08:48
122. Wang Chung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team  0:08:58
123. William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:09:52
124. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team  0:10:33
125. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  0:16:16
126. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team  0:16:43
127. Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team  0:28:30