Neo-pro Howard takes first pro victory

Image 1 of 30

The Tour of Oman exploded during the toughest stage of the race on Wednesday as Team Sky and the rest of the peloton swapped below the belt punches during the race and then accusations on unfair play after the finish.

Australia's Leigh Howard (HTC-Columbia) won the stage with a fine sprint on the slightly uphill finish in Nakhal. The 20-year-old omnium track world champion took the scalps of Daniele Bennati (Liquigas-Doimo) and Tom Boonen (Quick Step) to land his first win with the US team.

Howard's win was not the only surprise of the stage. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) had seemed set for overall victory but he finished 1:05 behind Howard and slipped to 34th place overall at 1:01.

Bennati is the new overall race leader. He has a six-second advantage on America's Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions), while Latvia's Gatis Smukulis (AG2R-La Mondiale) is third, also at six seconds.

Arguments spark attacks

The two climbs in the foothills of the Jabal Akhdar mountains and the hot conditions for the 187km stage were expected to shape the racing but it seems the arguments about race leadership responsibility was the spark that blew the stage apart and ultimately cost Boasson Hagen and Team Sky any chance of overall victory.

According to numerous riders and directeur sportifs Cyclingnews talked to after the stage, events escalated during the stage.

Team Sky 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 Team Sky riders vented their anger on the peloton by blasting through the feed zone and then put the peloton in the gutter by riding a half-road echelon when the wind changed direction.

That especially angered the Cervelo Test Team, who retaliated by splitting the race when Boasson Hagen stopped for a leak 55km from the finish. Because he was race leader, Boasson Hagen had perhaps thought the peloton would wait for him, but in the heat of battle, nobody did and 41 riders group quickly formed an echelon and accelerated up the road.

HTC-Columbia put six riders in the move, including Howard, Cervelo TestTeam had five riders, and Farrar, Boonen, Bennati, Stuart O'Grady and Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), Marcus Burghardt (BMC) were all there, too.

Team Sky tried to chase but could not close the gap and their riders eventually cracked, leaving just CJ Sutton with Boasson Hagen in the final part of the race. The Norwegian brought home the bunch at 1:05 but was clearly embarrassed to have lost the race leadership.

"It was a mistake but there are more days coming," was all Boasson Hagen said before jumping in a team car for the long drive back to the hotel.

The Team Sky riders were dejected and angry about losing the race lead but head coach Shane Sutton made sure his riders quickly put the day behind them.

"That’s bike racing, the team rode well and solid, Edvald went to have a natural break, someone reacted to that, and the rest is history," Sutton said.

"Tension's running a bit high after the stage, but it's a long season and you can't get too engrossed in one thing. We had the jersey for a few days, won a stage and the boys have done a fantastic job, we will be ready come the big classics. Now it's time to regroup rethink - and hit back tomorrow."

Bennati pulls on the leader's red jersey

Bennati was disappointed to have lost the stage to Howard but happy to take the race leader's red jersey.

"I would have rather won the stage, but taking the leader's jersey is a good consolation," Bennati said. "Now I'll try and gain a few more seconds in Thursday's stage and then hopefully defend the jersey in the time trial."

"It was an aggressive stage," the Italian continued. "Sky had the jersey and it was their responsibility to chase the break they had let go. Racing is racing but perhaps it wasn't fair they attacked when Boasson Hagen stopped for a leak."

Stage start delayed 90 minutes

The arguments at the end of the stage came after a long day for everyone in the race.

The 187km stage started 90 minutes late because the riders were delayed after flying to the start in the isolated town of Ibri, 300km from their hotel in Muscat.

Despite the delay, the racing began from the gun with Joaquin Novoa Menendez (Cervelo Test Team), Nicolai Trussov (Katusha), Gatis Smukulis (AG2R-La Mondiale), Arnoud Van Groen (Vacansoleil), Cyril Lemoine (Saur Sojasun) and Australia's Ben King (Trek-Livestrong) attacking.

Team Sky refused to chase, believing that other teams should help them with the workload and from there, the battle of nerves escalated and ended at almost six in the evening in Nakhal, with Team Sky's confidence taking a blow.

Now the battle for overall success is between the 33 riders still only 39 seconds behind Bennati. Both Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia) and Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) are at 16 seconds and will probably fight it out for victory in Friday's hilly 18.5km time trial.

Before then is Thursday's 148km fifth stage from Wattayah to the Sultan Qaboos Stadium near Muscat.

Full Results