Monday’s stage in the Tour of Oman promised a climbing scene. The peloton was driven more than 140 km relatively flat towards the destination Green Mountain, but still a tough final climb of 6 km with an average of about 10 percent.
The mandatory early break was already 50 kilometers from the finish, after the peloton disintegrated prematurely. Denmark’s Anthon Charmegg, second in the standings, finished in the second set.
When dealing with the final climb, it was Intermarché-WG that called up the shots. The Belgian squad acted as captain Jan Hurt. The peloton was gradually reduced in size, until Hirt thought his moment had come.
The Czechs no longer looked back and took Jan and everyone off the wheel. In the end, he was 39 seconds ahead of France’s Kevin Foquelin. Henri Vandenabeele was the first handsome eighth Belgian to finish.
In the standings, Hurt snatched the leader’s shirt over Fausto Masnada. The fast Italian Step-Alpha Vinyl fell across the ice and ranked 11th in about two minutes. Tomorrow the Tour of Oman will probably end with a chance for a new runner, although there is still a pimple to beat three times in the final.
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