Van Avermaet stage hunting at Tour of Oman

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Greg Van Avermaet rode into the Valencia race lead during stage 2(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Greg Van Avermaet will continue his return from an off-season injury as he leads BMC Racing at this month’s Tour of Oman. With neither of BMC’s main general classification riders making the trip to the Middle East this spring, the team will be targeting stage victories with Van Avermaet.

Van Avermaet came close to victory in last year’s race but was edged out by an in-form Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) on stage 5. The current Olympic champion had a tricky off-season following a mountain bike crash that resulted in a fractured ankle and surgery. He began his season at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, where the team claimed the opening time trial and, after teammate Manuel Senni had a turn, wore the leader’s jersey for two days before handing it over to eventual winner Nairo Quintana.

Joining Van Avermaet in the team will be Ben Hermans, who finished second to Quintana in Valencia. Stefan Kung, who was also a key part of BMC’s team time trial victory in Spain makes the eight-man squad, as does Michael Schar. Jempy Drucker and Daniel Oss both started their season in the Middle East at the Dubai Tour. Drucker had a solid ride, finishing fourth overall after a consistent week of sprints.

"The Tour of Oman is traditionally a tough race, and this year the level of competition is high, so we're expecting a good race,” said directeur sportif Valerio Piva. “We know that Greg is in good form and motivated, and we also have an ambitious team to support him, including riders like Martin Elmiger and Kilian Frankiny who not only race for the first time this season but make their debut with BMC Racing Team.”