Bouhanni wins final stage of Tour of Oman

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Chris Froome secured overall victory at the Tour of Oman - his first ever professional stage race win - after a final show of strength by Team Sky, who guided him to victory during the final 144km stage on the Muscat Corniche.

French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) had been close to victory several times in Qatar and Oman and produced a perfect sprint to end his trip to the Middle East with a win.

Bouhanni beat Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) by a bike length, with Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team) third and a pack of other sprinters just behind them. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) was seventh despite a late puncture.

Froome finished safely in 31st place, with key teammate Ritchie Porte at his side as he had been throughout the six-day race. Bradley Wiggins finished off the back after sitting up following a huge turn on the front in the final kilometres.

Froome finished 27 seconds ahead of Contador in the final general classification, with Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) third at 39 seconds. Froome was framed by two former Tour de France winner's on the podium photographs, something that did not go unnoticed by the 2013 Tour de France contender.

"That was quite a special feeling. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet that this is my first ever stage race win," Froome told journalists after the podium ceremony.

"Any victory over the riders that are here - Contador, Evans or Nibali - is a huge victory. I'm really happy with this. It's a comfortable way to start things. I know I've got new responsibilities and a new role in the team. This is an excellent way to start the season.

"To be honest I wasn’t expecting to come out on top. I was hoping for the top five somewhere. To be in this position gives me a lot of confidence and builds the team around me, it gives them confidence in my ability."

Team Sky worked to protect Froome during the final stage, especially on the high-speed circuits on the Corniche.

"I literally had an armchair ride to the finish during the last stage," said Froome. "With the finishing circuit having a little bit of a climb on it, I was worried about something going wrong with the bike or a crash in front of me. The main thing was to stay at the front and out of trouble. The team took it up on the final circuits and lifted the pace, giving me a smooth ride in. Brad did some massive pulls and everyone did their part. It was fantastic.

"It's been a useful exercise to learn and take experiences away from the race. I've been able to test myself against the world's best and have the team working for me. It could have gone better."

Allez Bouhanni, allez Elissonde

French cycling was also celebrating after the Tour of Oman thanks to Nacer Bouhanni winning the final stage on the Muscat Corniche and his young team Kenny Elissonde taking the best young rider's jersey after a breakout performance on the climb to the finish on Green Mountain. Elissonde is a pure sprinter we could hear much more about in the Giro d'Italia, if not seven sooner, while Bouhanni has confirmed he is a deserved national French champion.

The final stage was a fairly quiet affair until the riders hit the Corniche for the two and a half laps of a 7.5km finishing circuits.

Gatis Smukulis (Katusha), Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Andrea Di Corrado (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) formed the long breakaway of the day but were caught as the peloton passed through the finish area.

Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) pulled out of the race with stomach problems after being dropped on the short climb, while Boonen was chasing in the cars after a late puncture.

Suddenly the sprint was wide open and uncontrolled. Bouhanni made sure he did not miss a great chance to show his red, white and blue national champion's jersey and charged down the middle of the road to victory.

"I finished in the top ten nine times during twelve days of racing but I really wanted to win a stage," Bouhanni said.

"We were here to sort things out with the team and work on our lead outs. I did everything to ensure that the teammates trust me to deliver. We made mistakes in four or five sprints, but to finally take one home, it's great teamwork. We were also third in the team classification and everybody has played their part in the success."

Bouhanni's next goal is a stage victory at Paris-Nice, where he hopes to win on home soil while wearing the red, white and blue French national champion's jersey.

Full Results

 Final general classification

Points classification