February 18, 2012 (Jabal Al Akhdhar, Oman) – The very difficult 158km stage ending at Jabal Al Akhdhar saw Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali capture the stage victory while the second man on the line, Peter Velits claimed the overall lead. Liquigas rider Nibali took off in the final kilometres of the climb up the Green mountain, eventually beating Velits and Casar but that wasn’t quite enough to earn the Red jersey. With one stage to go Velits is on pole position to win this 3rd edition but only has a one second lead.
A great venue for the start of the king of stages. The 120 remaining riders of the Tour of Oman (two non-starters: Hulsmans – FAR and Sys – BGT) witnessed the splendour of the new Royal Opera House in Muscat where the start of stage 6 would take place. On the day, the pack would have to cover 158kms including the final very difficult 6-kilometre climb up Jabal Al Akhdhar where Robert Gesink had conquered the Red Jersey last year before winning the overall classification of the 2nd edition.
The pack took off under a hot sun and after 8 kilometres two men took off in the lead: Eisel (SKY) and Henderson (LTB). They were soon to be caught by four other riders: Kohler (BMC), Timmer (PRO), Gatto (FAR) and Clarke (CSS). Their advantage went from 2’ at km 13 to a maximum 3’20 at km 25.
The first bonus sprint at Salalah (km 66) was claimed by Clarke ahead of Gatto and Kohler while the pack remained 2’15 adrift. But the riders then had to fight against both the heat and the headwind. Indeed after four hours of racing the average speed was only of 33.1km/h.
With 25kms to go the front men could still enjoy a 1’20 lead but they were to be caught at km 142. The second intermediate sprint was claimed by Lodewijk (BMC) ahead of Grabsch (OPQ) and Boonen (OPQ).
In the first kilometre of the climb up Jabal Al Akhdhar, only 30 riders stayed together at the front, all the others dropping behind. With 4 kilometres to go, Nibali (LIQ) took off and the gap increased over a small chasing group. With 3kms left, the Italian had a 22″ lead. An advantage that dropped to 13″ over Velits (OPQ) with one kilometre to go. Nibali managed to hang on to claim this 6th stage of the event, beating Velits and Casar (FDJ).
In the new general classification, Velits captures first spot and the Red jersey. The Slovakian rider now has a 1″ lead over Nibali and 17″ over Gallopin (RNT) who captures the White jersey for the best young rider. André Greipel therefore looses the Red jersey but still leads the points’ standings. The fighting-spirit jersey remains on the shoulders of Lodewijk (BMC).
Results (brief)
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 4:43:47
2. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
3. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:25
4. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:30
5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan 0:37
6. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:47
7. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:55
8. Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor 0:57
9. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 1:01
10. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda 1:02
GC after Stage 5
1. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 18:20:58
2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:01
3. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17
4. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:21
5. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:30
6. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
7. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Katusha Team 0:47
8. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda 0:49
9. Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor 0:50
10. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 0:52
11. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team 1:15