February 18/12 12:29 pm - Tour of Oman: Stage 5
Posted by Editoress on 02/18/12
The very difficult stage ending at Jabal Al Akhdhar saw Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali capture a stage victory while 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 has just a one second lead over Nibali.
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 took 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 escaped: Eisel (SKY) and Henderson (LTB). They were soon 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 both the heat and the headwind. Indeed after four hours of racing the average speed was only of 33.1km/h.
With 25kms remaining the front men would 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).
Press release
| Stage 5: Royal Opera House, Muscat to Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain), 158 km | |
| 1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 4:43:47 |
| 2 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | at 0:10 |
| 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 (Esp) 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 |
| 11 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team | 1:15 |
| 12 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 1:20 |
| 13 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 1:30 |
| 14 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 15 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan | 1:46 |
| 16 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:50 |
| 17 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol Team | |
| 18 Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team | both s.t. |
| 19 Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 2:01 |
| 20 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 21 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 2:16 |
| 22 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System | 2:29 |
| 23 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | 2:40 |
| 24 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | s.t. |
| 25 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Barracuda | 2:47 |
| 26 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | s.t. |
| 27 Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System | 2:50 |
| 28 Lars Bak (Den) Lotto-Belisol Team | 3:01 |
| 29 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | 3:13 |
| 30 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 3:25 |
| 31 Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 3:32 |
| 32 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Project 1T4I | s.t. |
| 33 Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 3:50 |
| 34 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan | 4:22 |
| 35 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. |
| 36 Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 4:37 |
| 37 Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 5:01 |
| 38 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat | |
| 39 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
| 40 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling | all s.t. |
| 41 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team | 5:21 |
| 42 Lee Rodgers (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 5:31 |
| 43 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 5:36 |
| 44 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan | 5:44 |
| 45 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System | 5:47 |
| 46 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda | 6:06 |
| 47 Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan | |
| 48 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | both s.t. |
| 49 Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I | 6:13 |
| 50 Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 6:15 |
| 51 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 6:17 |
| 52 Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 53 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
| 54 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | all s.t. |
| 55 Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 6:20 |
| 56 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 6:22 |
| 57 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 6:34 |
| 58 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
| 59 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 60 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
| 61 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | all s.t. |
| 62 Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan | 6:37 |
| 63 Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 7:10 |
| 64 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 7:41 |
| 65 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. |
| 66 Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 7:57 |
| 67 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 8:08 |
| 68 Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
| 69 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol Team | |
| 70 Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
| 71 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 72 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Team | |
| 73 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol Team | |
| 74 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
| 75 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | |
| 76 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| 77 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| 78 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1T4I | |
| 79 Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Barracuda | |
| 80 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System | all s.t. |
| 81 Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 8:17 |
| 82 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 8:18 |
| 83 Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | s.t. |
| 84 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat | 8:30 |
| 85 Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 86 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 9:07 |
| 87 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 88 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 9:10 |
| 89 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 90 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System | 9:13 |
| 91 Alex Coutts (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 9:19 |
| 92 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 9:32 |
| 93 Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 9:47 |
| 94 Clinton Avery (NZl) Champion System | s.t. |
| 95 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 9:54 |
| 96 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 97 Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 9:59 |
| 98 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto-Belisol Team | 10:03 |
| 99 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | 10:07 |
| 100 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 10:11 |
| 101 Jérémy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | 10:28 |
| 102 Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1T4I | 10:55 |
| 103 William Clarke (Aus) Champion System | |
| 104 Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System | both s.t. |
| 105 Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1T4I | 11:05 |
| 106 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team | 11:10 |
| 107 Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 11:16 |
| 108 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
| 109 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| 110 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team | |
| 111 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
| 112 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | all s.t. |
| 113 Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team | 11:40 |
| 114 David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team | s.t. |
| 115 Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Project 1T4I | 11:48 |
| 116 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 12:28 |
| 117 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Team | 14:21 |
| 118 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 14:31 |
| 119 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | 14:33 |
| 120 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team | 15:09 |
| DNS Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
| DNS Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| GC | |
| 1 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 18:20:58 |
| 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | at 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 | 0:30 |
| 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 |
| 12 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 1:20 |
| 13 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 1:30 |
| 14 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan | 1:33 |
| 15 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:54 |
| 16 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 2:01 |
| 17 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda | 2:19 |
| 18 Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 2:23 |
| 19 Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team | 2:30 |
| 20 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | 2:44 |
| 21 Lars Bak (Den) Lotto-Belisol Team | 3:01 |
| 22 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System | 3:21 |
| 23 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 3:24 |
| 24 Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 3:31 |
| 25 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 3:43 |
| 26 Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 3:50 |
| 27 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 3:51 |
| 28 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 3:57 |
| 29 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | 4:05 |
| 30 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto-Belisol Team | 4:16 |
| 31 Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System | 4:18 |
| 32 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan | 4:59 |
| 33 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 5:19 |
| 34 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team | 5:28 |
| 35 Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 5:32 |
| 36 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling | 5:51 |
| 37 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 6:02 |
| 38 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Barracuda | 6:19 |
| 39 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 6:40 |
| 40 Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I | 6:46 |
| 41 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System | 6:47 |
| 42 Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 6:49 |
| 43 Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 6:50 |
| 44 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 6:56 |
| 45 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 7:07 |
| 46 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol Team | 7:30 |
| 47 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan | 7:50 |
| 48 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling | 7:52 |
| 49 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1T4I | 7:56 |
| 50 Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan | 8:05 |
| 51 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 8:35 |
| 52 Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 8:38 |
| 53 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Project 1T4I | 8:38 |
| 54 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 9:00 |
| 55 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 9:07 |
| 56 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 9:16 |
| 57 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda | 9:23 |
| 58 Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan | 9:54 |
| 59 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 9:55 |
| 60 Alex Coutts (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 10:03 |
| 61 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 10:56 |
| 62 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System | 10:58 |
| 63 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat | 11:11 |
| 64 Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1T4I | 11:18 |
| 65 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol Team | 11:26 |
| 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 | 11:52 |
| 70 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 11:54 |
| 71 Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Project 1T4I | 12:22 |
| 72 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto-Belisol Team | 12:37 |
| 73 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat | 12:42 |
| 74 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 12:45 |
| 75 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 12:50 |
| 76 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 12:56 |
| 77 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | 13:09 |
| 78 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team | 13:13 |
| 79 Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 13:19 |
| 80 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 13:34 |
| 81 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | 13:39 |
| 82 Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 13:40 |
| 83 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | 13:42 |
| 84 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 13:56 |
| 85 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 13:56 |
| 86 Lee Rodgers (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 14:02 |
| 87 Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1T4I | 14:04 |
| 88 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling | 14:07 |
| 89 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1T4I | 14:10 |
| 90 David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team | 14:11 |
| 91 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 14:12 |
| 92 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | 14:41 |
| 93 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Team | 14:46 |
| 94 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 15:15 |
| 95 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | 15:21 |
| 96 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 15:32 |
| 97 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 16:01 |
| 98 Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 16:07 |
| 99 Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 17:01 |
| 100 Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 17:17 |
| 101 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 17:54 |
| 102 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team | 17:55 |
| 103 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team | 18:04 |
| 104 Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 18:12 |
| 105 Jérémy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | 18:59 |
| 106 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | 19:56 |
| 107 Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team | 21:41 |
| 108 Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 21:57 |
| 109 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System | 24:51 |
| 110 William Clarke (Aus) Champion System | 24:52 |
| 111 Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin - Barracuda | 25:14 |
| 112 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 25:38 |
| 113 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team | 26:48 |
| 114 Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 27:05 |
| 115 Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System | 27:41 |
| 116 Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1T4I | 28:12 |
| 117 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 28:29 |
| 118 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Team | 33:13 |
| 119 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 34:55 |
| 120 Clinton Avery (NZl) Champion System | 35:06 |
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