Tour of Oman 2016

2016 Tour of Oman Start List

The 2016 Tour of Oman will be the sixth edition of the Middle Eastern race run by the Tour de France organisers ASO. After the flat, chaos of the Tour of Qatar, the Tour of Oman is a chance for the climbers to test their legs. The six-day race will Oman Exhibition Centre on Tuesday, February 16, via the traditional summit finish of Green Mountain, to the Matrah Corniche the following Sunday.

Surprise 2015 champion Rafael Valls will not be back in Oman to defend his title as he gears up for Tirreno-Adriatico with his new team Lotto-Soudal. There will still be some big-name stage racers vying for the overall title. BMC took second place with Tejay van Garderen in 2015, and with the American remaining in Europe they will be looking to Richie Porte in the general classification fight.

Last year’s Grand Tour revelation Tom Dumoulin heads up the Giant-Alpecin team, as he makes his season debut. Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) returns to improve on his youth classification victory of 2014, with his teammate Domenico Pozzovivo also an option for the French squad.

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) resumes his season after a disappointing outing at the Tour de San Luis. Belgian Jurgen Van Den Broeck is set to make his debut in Katusha colours at the race, with Alexander Kristoff looking after their sprint ambitions. Other notable inclusions are Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), and Eduardo Sepulveda (Fortuneo-Vital concept), who finished second at the Tour de San Luis in January.

Joining Kristoff as contenders for stage victories in the sprints, and in the mountains, will be Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18), Andrea Guardini (Astana), Daniel Teklehaimanot (Dimension Data), Gianni Meersman (Etixx-QuickStep), Moreno Hofland (LottoNL-Jumbo), Janez Brajokovic (UnitedHealthcare) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).

2016 Tour of Oman stages

Tuesday, February 16, Stage 1: Oman Exhibition Center to Al Bustan, 145.5km

Wednesday, February 17, Stage 2: Omantel Head Office to Quriyat, 162km

Thursday, February 18, Stage 3: Al Sawadi Beach to Naseem Park, 176.5km

Friday, February 19, Stage 4: Knowledge Oasis Muscat to Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain), 177km

Saturday, February 20, Stage 5: Yiti (Al Sifah) to Ministry of Tourism, 119.5km

Sunday, February 21, Stage 6: The Wave Muscat to Matrah Corniche, 130.5km

2015 Tour of Oman l 2014 Tour of Oman l 2013 Tour of Oman l 2012 Tour of Oman l Previous Winners

2015 Tour of Oman general classification