2010 Tour of Oman - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2010 Tour of Oman was the first edition of the Tour of Oman

Tour of Oman

The Tour of Oman is a road bicycle race race held in Oman and is part of the UCI Asia Tour. The race is classified as a 2.1. The race is run by the A.S.O., and was held for the first time between 14 and 19 February 2010. The race is a men's competition consisting of six stages...

cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Asia Tour, and held from 14 February to 19 February 2010, in Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

. The race was won by Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...

of .

Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the 2010 Tour of Oman

Tour of Oman

. These included ten UCI ProTour

UCI ProTour

The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...

teams, five UCI Professional Continental teams, and one Continental team. Each team entered a squad of eight riders, giving the Tour a peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

of 128 riders.

The teams that participated in the race were:

Trek-Livestrong U23
Team RadioShack
Team RadioShack is a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owns and leads the team, which plans to race in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour, as well as running and triathlon events...

Stage 1

14 February 2010 – Muscat Corniche, 61 km (37.9 mi)

The Frenchman Jimmy Casper

Jimmy Casper

thumb|leftJimmy Casper is a French professional road bicycle racer for the UCI Professional Continental team Saur-Sojasun....

outsprinted the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

.

The first stage was a night time stage along a 16 lap course in Muscat Corniche. This night racing made the first couple of laps cautious because the riders had to race without headlights and did not want to risk an accident.

Stage 1 results

	Team	Time
1	Saur-Sojasun	1h 22' 12"
2		st.
3		st.
4		st.
5		st.
6		st.
7		st.
8		st.
9		st.
10		st.

General Classification after Stage 1

	Team	Time
1	Saur-Sojasun	1h 22' 12"
2		+ 4"
3		+ 6"
4		+10"
5		+10"
6		+10"
7		+10"
8		+10"
9		+10"
10		+10"

Stage 2

15 February 2010 – Nizwa to Samail, 148.5 km (92.3 mi)

Daniele Bennati

Daniele Bennati

Daniele Bennati is an Italian road racing cyclist specializing in fast sprint finishes. He currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He turned professional in 2002, when he joined the team and wore zebra stripes as part of Mario Cipollini’s leadout train...

won the stage in a sprint finish. It was his 1st victory since February 28th of last year. He outsprinted American sprinter Tyler Farrar

Tyler Farrar

Tyler Farrar is an American professional road racing cyclist since 2003.-Cycling career:Farrar started racing at 13, and rode for in 2003, in 2004, and in 2006 and 2007. In April 2006 he crashed near the finish of the Circuit de la Sarthe and broke his collarbone and missed most of the season...

and Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...

to get the victory. He dedicated the race to Franco Ballerini

Franco Ballerini

Franco Ballerini was an Italian road racing cyclist.Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling team. In 1993 he was beaten on the line by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle in an exciting Paris–Roubaix finale...

, an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

cyclist who passed away February 7th 2010.

In the Tour of Qatar

2010 Tour of Qatar

The 2010 Tour of Qatar was the ninth edition of the Tour of Qatar cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Asia Tour, and was held from 7 February to 12 February 2010, in Qatar. The race was won by Wouter Mol of .-Teams:...

Daniele Bennati

helped out his team mate Francesco Chicchi

Francesco Chicchi

Francesco Chicchi is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI Pro Tour team .- Major results :200220052006...

but today was the reverse. With no one making a move with 300m to go so Bennati

Daniele Bennati

jumped and had enough speed to hold off the other sprinters. He credits his team mates Francesco Chicchi

Francesco Chicchi

Francesco Chicchi is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI Pro Tour team .- Major results :200220052006...

and Daniel Oss for giving him a great lead out. This victory put Bennati

Daniele Bennati

in a comfortable 3rd position overall with the same time as the leader.

The three riders tied for first are (in order): Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

, Jimmy Casper

Jimmy Casper

thumb|leftJimmy Casper is a French professional road bicycle racer for the UCI Professional Continental team Saur-Sojasun....

, and Daniele Bennati

Daniele Bennati

Stage 2 results

	Team	Time
1		3h 33' 03"
2		st.
3		st.
4		st.
5		st.
6		st.
7		st.
8		st.
9		st.
10	Saur-Sojasun	st.

General Classification after Stage 2

	Team	Time
1		4h 55' 15"
2	Saur-Sojasun	st.
3		st.
4		+ 4"
5		+ 6"
6		+ 6"
7		+ 7"
8	Trek Livestrong U23 Team RadioShack Team RadioShack is a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owns and leads the team, which plans to race in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour, as well as running and triathlon events...	+ 8"
9		+ 10"
10		+ 10"

Stage 3

16 February 2010 – Saifat Ash Shiekh to Qurayyat, 124 km (77.1 mi)
's Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

confirmed that he is the big favourite to win the first edition of the Tour of Oman

Tour of Oman

by winning Tuesday's third stage to Qurayyat and extending his overall lead.

The 22-year-old Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

got a perfect leadout from his teammates, responded to a late surge by the team and then accelerated to the line to win with his arms waving in celebration. 's Danilo Napolitano

Danilo Napolitano

Danilo Napolitano is an Italian professional road racing cyclist on , and is chiefly known for his sprinting abilities....

was 2nd and Tyler Farrar

Tyler Farrar

was 3rd.

The 10 second time bonus won in the stage puts him 10 seconds ahead of Tyler Farrar

Tyler Farrar

who is in 2nd place.

Stage 3 results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			3h 05' 49"
2			st.
3			st.
4			st.
5			st.
6			st.
7			st.
8			st.
9			st.
10			st.

General Classification after Stage 3

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			8h 00' 54"
2			+ 10"
3			+ 10"
4			+ 14"
5			+ 15"
6			+ 16"
7			+ 16"
8			+ 17"
9			+ 20"
10			+ 20"

Stage 4

17 February 2010 – Ibri to Nakhal, 187 km (116.2 mi)

The Tour of Oman exploded during the toughest stage of the race on Wednesday as and the rest of the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

swapped below the belt punches during the race and then accusations on unfair play after the finish. Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

's Leigh Howard

Leigh Howard

Leigh Howard is an Australian professional racing cyclist for UCI ProTour team .-Biography:Born in Geelong, Victoria, Howard now resides in Waurn Ponds. He began cycling competitively at the age of 10 and first represented Australia in 2005 at the age of 16.Howard won the bronze medal in the...

won the stage with a fine sprint on the slightly uphill finish.

riders let a six-rider break gain almost seven minutes in the first hour and then were angry when no other teams were willing to help them chase the break.

Several riders claimed that the riders vented their anger on the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

by blasting through the feed zone and then put the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

in the gutter by riding a half-road echelon

Echelon

Echelon may refer to:* A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.* Echelon formation, a military hierarchical formation, also used to describe the migratory patterns of birds...

when the wind changed direction.

That especially angered , who retaliated by splitting the race when Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

stopped to uninate 55 km from the finish. Because he was race leader, Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

had perhaps thought the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

would wait for him, but in the heat of battle, nobody did and 41 riders group quickly formed an echelon

Echelon

Echelon may refer to:* A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.* Echelon formation, a military hierarchical formation, also used to describe the migratory patterns of birds...

and accelerated up the road. Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

never caught up to the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

and as a result finished 1'05" behind Leigh Howard

Leigh Howard

and is currently in 34th position.

Stage 4 results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			4h 11' 31"
2			st.
3			st.
4			st.
5			st.
6			st.
7			st.
8			st.
9			st.
10			st.

General Classification after Stage 4

	Team	Time
1		12h 12' 29"
2		+ 6"
3		+ 6"
4		+ 6"
5		+ 11"
6		+ 12"
7	Saur-Sojasun	+ 14"
8		+ 16"
9		+ 16"
10		+ 16"

Stage 5

18 February 2010 – Wattayat to Sultan Qaboos Stadium, 146 km (90.7 mi)

's Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...

took his third win in 11 days of racing in the Gulf, winning a hectic sprint at the end of stage five of the Tour of Oman

Tour of Oman

. Boonen

Tom Boonen

won two stages in the Tour of Qatar

2010 Tour of Qatar

and seemed back to his very best.

Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen

got an excellent leadout from his teammates and then dug deep to find an extra bit of speed to beat 's Juan Jose Haedo

Juan José Haedo

Juan José Haedo is an Argentine professional road racing cyclist and former track cyclist on . He is the brother of Lucas Sebastian Haedo...

.

The win put Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen

2 seconds behind the overall leader, Daniele Bennati

Daniele Bennati

.

After five days of racing, 26 riders are still within 16 seconds in the overall standings and so Friday's 18.5 km time trial

Individual time trial

An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

will decide the winner of the inaugural Tour of Oman

Tour of Oman

Stage 5 results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			3h 23' 52"
2			st.
3			st.
4			st.
5			st.
6			st.
7			st.
8			st.
9			st.
10			st.

General Classification after Stage 5

	Team	Time
1		15h 36' 21"
2		+ 2"
3		+ 6"
4		+ 6"
5		+ 6"
6		+ 10"
7		+ 11"
8	Saur-Sojasun	+ 14"
9		+ 16"
10		+ 16"

Stage 6

19 February 2010 – Al Jissah to Muscat Corniche, 18.6 km (11.6 mi)(individual time trial

Individual time trial

An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

)
Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

of won the 6th and final stage in the Tour of Oman, but time trialest Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...

placed 2nd on the stage (17 seconds behind Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

) which gave him the overall victory.

The win made Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

as the youth classifications winner, as well as the green jersey

Green jersey

The green jersey is a term used in road bicycle racing and Grand Tour stage races in particular. The green jersey is a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader in a subsidiary competition....

for the overall points winner. Edvald Boasson Hagen

Edvald Boasson Hagen

hit speeds of almost 100 km/h 100 km/h (62.1 mph) on the fast downhill section following the second climb and swept up the riders in front of him throughout his ride.

Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...

revealed he will not race again until the Eroica in Tuscany in early March. His winter training was disrupted by illness in January but he is now satisfied that he is back on schedule.

He is still some way from the Cancellara who can dominate Milan – San Remo, Paris–Roubaix and beat everyone in the big time trials, but his overall victory showed his class and experience. He was always in the right place during the decisive moments of the race and then used his time trialing skills and ability to hurt himself and come out on top. Cancellera was satisfied with his victory but admits he was hurting very much and that there is a lot of room for improvement for the big races later in the season.

Stage 6 results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			25' 28"
2			+ 17"
3			+ 45"
4			+ 48"
5			+ 1' 01"
6			+ 1' 11"
7			+ 1' 19"
8			st.
9			+ 1' 20"
10			st.

Final General Classification

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			16h 02' 52"
2			+ 28"
3			st.
4			+ 31"
5			+ 47"
6			+ 54"
7			+ 1' 02"
8			+ 1' 07"
9			+ 1' 12"
10			+ 1' 13"

Classification leadership

Stage	Winner	General Classification	Points Classification	Young Rider Classification	Aggressive Cyclist Classification	Teams Classification
1	Jimmy Casper Jimmy Casper thumb\|leftJimmy Casper is a French professional road bicycle racer for the UCI Professional Continental team Saur-Sojasun....	Jimmy Casper Jimmy Casper thumb\|leftJimmy Casper is a French professional road bicycle racer for the UCI Professional Continental team Saur-Sojasun....	Jimmy Casper Jimmy Casper thumb\|leftJimmy Casper is a French professional road bicycle racer for the UCI Professional Continental team Saur-Sojasun....	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...	Marco Pinotti Marco Pinotti Marco Pinotti is an Italian road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Pinotti is a specialist of individual time trial, in which he is a five-time Italian Time Trial Champion ....	Saur-Sojasun
2	Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati is an Italian road racing cyclist specializing in fast sprint finishes. He currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He turned professional in 2002, when he joined the team and wore zebra stripes as part of Mario Cipollini’s leadout train...	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...		Kristof Vandewalle Kristof Vandewalle Kristof Vandewalle is a professional Belgian road cyclist, currently riding for .-Palmarès:2003...
3	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...				Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis is a Latvian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .- Major achievements :20052006...
4	Leigh Howard Leigh Howard Leigh Howard is an Australian professional racing cyclist for UCI ProTour team .-Biography:Born in Geelong, Victoria, Howard now resides in Waurn Ponds. He began cycling competitively at the age of 10 and first represented Australia in 2005 at the age of 16.Howard won the bronze medal in the...	Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati is an Italian road racing cyclist specializing in fast sprint finishes. He currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He turned professional in 2002, when he joined the team and wore zebra stripes as part of Mario Cipollini’s leadout train...	Tyler Farrar Tyler Farrar Tyler Farrar is an American professional road racing cyclist since 2003.-Cycling career:Farrar started racing at 13, and rode for in 2003, in 2004, and in 2006 and 2007. In April 2006 he crashed near the finish of the Circuit de la Sarthe and broke his collarbone and missed most of the season...	Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis is a Latvian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .- Major achievements :20052006...
5	Tom Boonen Tom Boonen Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...	Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...
Final		Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...	Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...	Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis is a Latvian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .- Major achievements :20052006...

For Stage 2, Kenny De Haes wore the green jersey

Green jersey

The green jersey is a term used in road bicycle racing and Grand Tour stage races in particular. The green jersey is a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader in a subsidiary competition....

.

For Stages 3 and 4, Tyler Farrar

Tyler Farrar

wore the green jersey

Green jersey

The green jersey is a term used in road bicycle racing and Grand Tour stage races in particular. The green jersey is a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader in a subsidiary competition....

, and Kristof Vandewalle wore the white jersey.

For Stage 5, Leigh Howard

Leigh Howard

wore the white jersey.

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