Alexander Kristoff wins 2017 Tour of Oman opener

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin) won in Naseem Park for the second consecutive season, with victory on stage 1 of the Tour of Oman.

The Norwegian beat Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) to the line to ensure that he wears the leader's jersey on stage 2 of the race.

The win also marked Kristoff's fifth stage win in the Tour of Oman and his second of the season. There were concerns over Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors), with the Belgian crashing in the final kilometres. He was able to remount and finish the stage but he crossed the line with the back of his jersey in tatters. Boonen is using the Tour of Oman as part of his Classics preparation, ahead of his retirement at the end of the spring.

"I knew the sprint was going to be pretty tight but because of the headwind it was easy on the wheel, so I made sure I was on the left side where it was a bit more open and we had a clear path," Kristoff said.

"But I saw on the right side there was a crash and I heard afterwards it was [Boonen]. It's a pity for him that he crashed, his team did a good job all day with us. For sure he will try again another day, if he is not too badly injured.

"It made it a little bit nervous towards the end because there were a few changes of direction, but we were not really having enough crosswind to split it and nobody really tried so maybe if we had tried that at one point, it could have been enough but we were so focused on the sprint that everyone was waiting for the end," he added.

The opening stage of the 2017 Tour of Oman was marked by a five-man break with Larry Warbasse (Aqua Blue Sport), Aime De Gendt (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise), Alan Marangoni (Nippo - Vini Fantini), Giuseppe Fonzi (Wilier Triestina) and Christophe Masson (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) moving clear in the opening kilometres.

The contingent of WorldTour teams were willing to let the five build a near four-minute lead inside the opening hour of racing but as the race moved into the hills before heading back to the coast, the leading teams began to assert their control.

Quick-Step Floors and Katusha-Alpecin were among the first to set about a chase, first limiting the break to around three minutes before tightening their grip. BMC Racing joined the front of the peloton too and with 50 kilometres to go, the gap to the now tiring break had dropped to just over a minute.

A brief lull in the peloton, and a slight tailwind, allowed the break the chance to hold their position but when Warbasse, Marangoni and Masson pushed clear of De Gendt and Fonzi, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable catch.

The trio were finally reeled in with 10km to go before Kristoff sealed the win with an impressive sprint.

"It's always nice to start with wins. We came here to get the win and we managed it on the opening day. If we manage to get something more it's a bonus but we can ride here without pressure and maybe the last stage is another chance for me and then I can try something in the climbs and do some good training for the races to come," the stage winner added.

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