Tour of Oman: Fernando Gaviria wins stage 1

Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) won stage 1 of the Tour of Oman, beating Mark Cavendish (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) and Kaden Groves (BikeExchange-Jayco) in a bunch sprint in Muscat.

The Colombian was expertly delivered to the line by experienced lead-out man Max Richeze and he unleashed a crisp sprint to claim his first victory of the new season. Cavendish was closing quickly in the final metres but he ran out of road and had to settle for second place on his first race day of 2022.

Gaviria endured a difficult 2021, notching up just one victory, and his UAE Team Emirates squad signed another marquee sprinter this winter in Pascal Ackermann. After beginning his campaign at the Saudi Tour last week, Gaviria got off the mark for 2022 with an assured sprint finish here.

“My team did really nice. Max made a big difference in the lead-out and then I’m really happy to work like this,” said Gaviria.

Richeze’s WorldTour career had looked to be over this winter when UAE Team Emirates did not initially renew his contract but he was belatedly added to their roster last month to cover for the injured Alvaro Hodeg. Richeze will thus remain at UAE Team Emirates until the end of the Giro d’Italia in May and the Argentinian underlined his value with a pitch-perfect lead-out here.

His effort in the final kilometre stretched out the group and left Cavendish with too much ground to make up by the time he launched his sprint within sight of the line. Cavendish, who sat in fourth wheel as the sprint began, showed a striking turn of speed in the closing metres and he will look to make the most of the opportunities that come the way of the fast men later in the week.

Groves took third on the stage ahead of GP de la Marseillaise winner Amaury Capiot (Arkéa-Samsic), while 20-year-old Paul Penhoët (Groupma-FDJ) was an impressive fifth. The French youngster is part of Groupama-FDJ’s development squad but has been promoted to the elite team for the Tour of Oman.

The 138km stage was animated by a three-man move featuring Jan Dunnewind (Team Novo Nordisk), Peio Goikoetxea (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Mohammed Al-Wahibi (Oman) that went clear in the opening kilometre, though the peloton was reluctant to grant the trio too much leeway on such a short stage.

Their advantage briefly stretched above three minutes before the sprinters’ teams began to whittle down the gap and the unity of the break fragmented on the day’s lone climb to Fanja, where Goikoetxea forged ahead alone.

In the main peloton, meanwhile, DSM took up the reins on the climb and their forcing briefly split the bunch into three distinct groups, with Max Walscheid (Cofidis) among the fast men caught out.

The peloton eventually reformed over the other side, with QuickStep-AlphaVinyl and Burgos-BH among those leading the pursuit of the lone leader Goikoetxea. The Basque gamely defended a slender lead deep into the finale, but he was swept up before the finish.

The stage was set for a bunch sprint, where the nous of Richeze and the speed of Gaviria won out. In the overall standings, Gaviria carries a lead of two seconds over Cavendish into Friday’s second stage from Naseem Park to Suhar Corniche.