Chris Froome (Sky) continued where he left off in 2013 when he defended his title in the Tour of Oman earlier today. The foundations for the win was laid by some unusual aggressive racing from the Sky team and the Tour champion was happy to see the new strategy pay off.
Chris Froome wrapped up his second successive Tour of Oman title in style after Andre Greipel had sealed a hat-trick of stage wins in the Sultanate. Although the concluding stage was always destined to end in a sprint, a flurry of early activity meant Team Sky had to cover countless attacks before the lead-out trains eventually came to the fore on the Matrah Corniche.
Froome directed his troops brilliantly and was kept out of trouble in a fast finale which saw Greipel’s Lotto Belisol team assert their authority at the head of the pack. Greipel himself proved imperious once again, and produced one of his characteristic late kicks to edge out Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) and Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura) at the line.
Froome rolled home in that sizeable front group which ensured he backed up his 2013 success with a 26-second advantage over Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing). Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) rounded out the podium a further five seconds adrift and Sergio Henao highlighted Team Sky’s strength in depth by claiming seventh place in the overall standings.
After the stage, Froome was delighted to have made a winning start to his season and praised the team-mates who had helped him achieve his goal.
“It was flat out from the gun today and really tough racing," he told TeamSky.com. "There were GC guys attacking and sprint teams also trying to get someone in the break which meant they didn’t have to work as hard later in the race.
“Our guys did a fantastic job of covering all the moves though, and they should take a lot of pride out of today’s performance. We had a lot on our hands and to see everyone pull together like we did made me really happy. It was a pleasure to lead this team.
“Even at the end it was really tricky because we knew we had to be in a good position and not risk any significant time splits, but we achieved what we set out to achieve.
“Everyone’s spirits are really high after the race and it was clear to see we’ve all come here on the back of some good winter training. To get the overall victory was a nice reward for everyone, and winning the team classification was a brilliant bonus as well.”
In the race, Team Sky have been riding unusually aggressive. Instead of setting up their train before launching Froome off in an attack, they have sent riders like Mikel Nieve and Sergio Henao up the road.
Froome was happy to see the new strategy pay off.
"That was one of the objectives this week, to play our tactics a little bit differently and go on the offensive a little bit more than normal. I think it's really healthy for the guys and normal.
"I couldn't ask for much more. If at the start of the race you'd said to me I'd be here in the red jersey, I'd have taken it, definitely. That's the best case for me.
"It's great to be able to back it up and come and defend my title. The team we've had here has been really compatible, really aggressive and wanting to make the most out of the racing. It shows that everyone has come off a good winter and that everyone is working hard to be in good shape for this. It really a pleasure to work with people who share that mentality. We've got the leader's jersey to show for it. We're really happy."
And while Froome has made the perfect start to his season, the man himself insists his best is yet to come as he works towards his ultimate goal of a second Tour de France victory.
“I still feel like I’ve got a lot of work to do – a lot of room for improvement – but at this stage in the season, I’m where I need to be. This has been a really good experience for me as it’s the start of my build up to the Tour de France.
“I’ll travel home to Monaco now and take a few days off before honing my condition again for Tirreno-Adriatico in two weeks’ time.”
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