Cycling: Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin) won the opening stage of this year's Tour of Oman. Like last year, the Norwegian won in Naseem Park and will start tomorrow in the jersey of the overall leader. Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors) crashed heavily in the final but was able to finish the stage on the bike.
This year's Tour of Oman begins with a blueprint of last year's opener. Again it is Alexander Kristoff who beats the competition in the sprint in Naseem Park and celebrates his first win of the season. The Katusha-Alpecin driver prevailed in the final against the two Italians Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida), who finished second and third.
Tom Boonen caused a moment of shock: The experienced rider fell at high speed in the final phase of the stage and slid a painfully long distance across the asphalt. However, the Quick-Step Floors pro got to his feet and even rolled to the finish on the saddle – but whether he will start tomorrow is still highly questionable.
Tom Boonen is due to finish in Oman, Alexander Kristoff wins the first ride https://t.co/tKyMDJypkf #newsblad pic.twitter.com/V4GjJWnxO6
— Het Nieuwsblad (@Nieuwsblad_be) 14. February 2017
After today's flat stage, some bigger challenges await the climbers and punchers in the teams' line-up in the coming days. Last year's winner Vincenzo Nibali is not competing this year, but with compatriot Fabio Aru (Astana), Romain Bardet (AG2R) and Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet (BMC) there are some big names in contention for the overall title.