Kristoff wins first stage, Boonen crashes in Tour of Oman
Feb 14 2017 08:23 pm CET
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDSKatusha-Alpecin's Alexander Kristoff has won the first stage of the Tour of Oman. The Norwegian was the fastest in the final bunch sprint ahead of Kristian Sbaragli of Dimension Data and Sonny Colbrelli of Bahrain-Merida.
The first stage of the race was 176.5 kilometers long from Al Sawadi Beach to Naseem Park.
A group of five riders managed to escape early in the stage. Aime de Gent (Topsport Vlaanderen) and Giuseppe Fonzi (Wilier Trestina) were among the breakaway bunch that created a gap of three minutes and was caught within the 10 kilometer mark.
Katusha-Alpecin did a good job accelerating the peloton to catch the escapees and positioning Kristoff for the final sprint. It is the second time in a row that the Norwegian takes the victory in the first stage of the Tour of Oman.
One of the favorites for the day was Tom Boonen of Quick-Step Floors, but he got caught in a fall at 700 meters from the finish line. Yves Lampaert crashed against Tyler Farrar and brought Boonen to the ground along with them.
The Belgian rider seemed recover fast from the fall with a broken skin suit and some abrasions to his arm, shoulder and back, and could get back on the bike and finish the stage without problems.
Alexander Kristoff is also the first leader of the Middle Eastern race.
.@Kristoff87 wins again in Naseem Park #TOO2017 @katushacycling pic.twitter.com/KWhNHCtGkU
— Tour of Oman (@tourofoman) 14 de febrero de 2017
