Goss sprints to victory in Al Wutayya

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Matt Goss (HTC-Highroad) took the race leader's red jersey at the Tour of Oman on Wednesday after making it into the decisive split on stage two and then winning the sprint in Al Wutayya with an impressive show of speed.

The Australian beat Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) on the slightly rising finish after 72 riders formed a front group following the short but steep climb mid-way through the 139.5km stage. Race organiser Eddy Merckx had predicted the climb would cause some problems and he was right. The peloton snapped into several groups on the climb and then the 60km to the finish became a pursuit match between the chase groups.

Stage one winner and race leader Theo Bos (Rabobank) was unable to get back up to the front group despite a concerted pursuit by his teammates and he finished 10:34 behind. With him were world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad), Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and most of the other sprinters.

A crash near the final turn affected the likes of Heinrich Haussler but Goss clearly has newfound confidence in his sprinting ability and won it well, leaving Bennati to reflect on yet another placing and leaving Leopard Trek still chasing their first-ever win.

Thanks to the time bonuses, Goss leads Bennati by four seconds, with Boasson Hagen at six seconds. Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD) is fourth overall at 10 seconds and Luca Paolini (Katusha) is fifth in the same time.

Goss on form

Goss was on great form in January when he won a stage at the Tour Down Under and finished a close second overall behind Cameron Meyer. He hasn't raced since then but quickly found his legs and proved he can climb and then win sprints.

"It was a tough day. The climb was really quite tough and the finish was difficult and slightly uphill too. But it’s nice to get another one," Goss said just after crossing the finish line.

"I didn't know how I was going to be. I had a bit of time off and I'd just been training but it doesn't take long for the speed to come back in the legs."

The 24-year-old Tasmanian explained that the riders were surprised by the steepness of the short climb. He described it as similar to Willunga Hill that often decides the Tour Down Under, but said it was twice as long.

The climb quickly shook out the 127-rider peloton, forming three groups on the road after a very descent. The early break of five riders, that included Mark Cassidy (An Post Sean Kelly), was swept up as the race exploded into life.

At one stage Boonen and Cavendish were in the second group but they were unable to catch the front group of 72 riders that surged clear. Race leader Theo Bos was one of the first to be dropped on the climb and he was in a third group but even the hard work of almost all the Rabobank team could not close the gap and bring the big-name sprinters back in contention.

"BMC were riding quite hard on the climb and Garmin too," Goss said.

"It was a tough climb and the guys were pushing the pace. After that it was a combination of a lot of teams riding hard. Leopard Trek rode, Sky rode and we did a bit too. We had one guy working and the others were keeping me out of the wind and then they did a perfect job coming into the finish."

Overall contender shake out

The climb and subsequent shake out in the peloton gave the first indication of who will go on to be an overall contender for overall victory on the uphill finish on stage four and the equally important stage five 18.5km time trial.

Goss is expected to crack on the 5.8km climb to the finish on Green Mountain, meaning Boasson Hagen is now the best placed overall contender as he gained four bonus seconds for third place.

Those precious seconds could be the difference between overall success and a place on the podium but Boasson Hagen is still optimistic after producing a good ride on only his second day of the 2011 season.

"Yesterday I started my sprint a little late and today it was a little early but I'm getting there," he told Cyclingnews. "I'm in a good position now and I've gained a few seconds. We'll take it day by day and hope it goes well."

The decisive uphill finish to Green Mountain is on Friday. Before that the riders face the longest stage of the race, a 208km loop that starts and finishes in the southern town of Sur.

The riders travel to the start by speed boat but will still have to leave their hotel at eight in the morning. They then face a 250km drive back to their hotel near Muscat, making for a long day of riding and traveling.