Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Team Emirates) won the final stage of the Tour of Oman 2018 on the Matrah Corniche, beating sprinters Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) to the line. Alexey Lutsenko of Astana wins the general classification and will be joined by his colleague Miguel Angel Lopez on the podium. Gorka Izagirre of Bahrain Merida takes third place.
Tour of Oman 2018 Stage 6 Summary
Stage 6 was a short race of 135.5km across the Arabian peninsula for the final stage of the Tour of Oman. With a predominantly flat profile, the day’s proceedings were always set to conclude in the sprint: a final chance for the likes of Bryan Coquard and Mark Cavendish to shine. The breakaway for Stage 6 was formed of five riders: Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step Floors), Maxime Farazijn (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Xandro Meurisse (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Pim Ligthart (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) and Fabricio Ferrari (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA ). The attack provoked little attention from the peloton- they took 4’40 after just 20 kilometers of racing.
It was only when the hills hit between km 80 and 100 that the gap began to decrease, dropping rapidly to 2’10. The climbs proved too much for Maxime Farazijn (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), who was dropped from the leading quintet. The fight for sprint positions began early on today and ultimately blew the bunch in two- at the front of the race, only Rémi Cavagna and Pim Lightart remain.
At the first lap across the finish line (22.5 km from the race end), the duo still had 1’15 on the peloton. Ten kilometers from the line, the Frenchman Rémi Cavagna dug deep to hold 30 seconds on the chasers, led by the Trek-Segafredo and UAE-Team Emirates. Incredibly, the QuickStep-Floors rider somehow manages to widen the gap to 45 seconds, with less than 7 km to go to the finish line. However, it was not his day. The bunch is back together with 3km to go. The day ends with a full-blown sprint on the Matrah Corniche, won by Alexander Kristoff for the third consecutive year!
Stage 6 Results
- Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Team Emirates)
- Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept)
- Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo)
- Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana)
- Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin)
- Davide Martinelli (Quick Step-Floors)
- Amaury Capiot (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
- Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team)
- Benjamin Declercq (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
- Floris Gerts (Roompot Nederlandse Loterij)
General Classification
- Alexey Lustenko (Astana)
- Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) + 11
- Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain Merida) + 28
- Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) + 30
- Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin) + 32
- Dries Devenyns (Quick-Step Floors) + 1’05
- Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) + 1’14
- Odd Christian Eiking (Wanty – Groupe Gobert) + 1’24
- Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data) +1’29
- Rui Costa (Emirates) + 1’37