February 19, 2012 (Matrah Corniche, Oman) – On the final day of the Tour of Oman, Peter Velits managed to hang on to his slim 1″ lead to win this third edition of the Tour of Oman. The Slovakian triumphs ahead of Nibali and Gallopin. The sixth stage was claimed after a bunched sprint by Marcel Kittel, winning for the second time of the week, ahead of Sagan and Farrar.

The final stage of the Tour of Oman, finishing on the Matrah Corniche, traditionnaly ends in a bunched sprint and the name of the overall winner is often already known, but with only one second between overall leader Peter Velits (OPQ) and his closest rival, Vincenzo Nibali (LIQ), a lot could still happen on this sunny and windy day.

The 120 remaining riders took off from Al Khawd just after noon for a 130.5km stage heading to a final circuit on the Matrah corniche. After less than a kilometre of racing, four men powered away from the pack : Schar (BMC), Clarke (CSS), Lemair (BGT) and Rodgers (RTS). Their advantage grew to a maximum 2’15 at km 6 but then dropped down under the influence of the Liquigas team taking on the chase for their leader Nibali in his quest for that precious bonus second that could change the fate of the race.

Once the front four were caught at km 44.5, a fantastic battle started for positions before the first intermediate sprint. And what a fight it was between Liquigas and Omega Parma – Quickstep. Tom Boonen (OPQ) managed to claim the sprint at the Wave Muscat (km 53), beating Sagan (LIQ) and Van Keirsbulck (OPQ), preventing Nibali from gainning any bonus second.

Just after this first episode, three riders took off on a break at km 63: Vandevelde, Van Summeren (both GRM) and Ten Dam (RAB). Their advantage reached 1’45 at km 79. On the final 7-kilometre circuit on the Matrah Corniche, the gap dropped down with the Omega Pharma – Quickstep riders taking command of the chase.

The second bonus sprint (km 102.5) was claimed by Vandevelde ahead of Ten Dam and Van Summeren while the pack remained 1’15 adrift. The front men stayed clear of the pack and still had 1’05 with 3 laps to go. They were finally caught at the beginning of the final lap (km 123.5). With the big teams in command of the pack, time had come for a final bunched sprint.

Winner of stage 3, Marcel Kittel (PRO) claimed his second success on the Tour. The German beat Sagan (LIQ) and Farrar (GRM) to the line. Comfortably settled in the pack and well protected by his team mates, Peter Velits (OPQ), 25th on the day, captured the overall victory of this 3rd edition.

In the final GC, the Slovakian beats Nibali by just a second and Gallopin by 17″. The Green jersey finally goes to Sagan thanks to the points he conquered on this final day. The best young rider (white jersey) is Frenchman Tony Gallopin while Klaas Lodewijk wins the fighting-spirit jersey.

His Excellency Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi, Head of Muscat Municipality and Tour of Oman organiser explained his rationale at the finish line for the creation of the Tour of Oman. “Every city is unique with different resources, problems and opportunities all merging together to create a distinctive urban culture. We are embarking on a series of projects to make Muscat the city for people and this includes development of infrastructure, urban design and also the creation of major events that transcend boundaries of age, nationality, language and gender.

Our objective is for cycling to make a real contribution to the social and economic progress within Oman and in the three years since we started the Tour, the popularity and understanding of the sport has grown exponentially. For the thousands of children who now welcome these elite athletes at every stage of the race, they have caught a short glimpse of the strong will and determination that is required to succeed. This knowledge will seed their enthusiasm to now strive to be the best they can be. It is an invaluable lesson and its impact will be shown in the years to come.”

Results

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

Final GC

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