André Greipel survived a late scare in the crosswinds before launching his powerful sprint to win the first stage of the Tour of Oman. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha, 9th s.t.)

"Today, I felt much better than I was at the Tour of Qatar. My legs were ok during the whole stage, while I almost did not have any pain in my arm. Maybe my position in the sprint was still not the best one, but I took my first big step in this season by taking a top 10 placing. I am satisfied with the progress I have felt in the last days. Tomorrow will be another stage and another chance for me. I want to get better and better every day."

Torsten Schmidt (sports director Katusha whose best rider was Alexander Kristoff in 9th)

"We had a good and calm stage without any serious problems for our team. The sprinters’ teams controlled the race and the breakaway, while we confidently protected our leader Joaquim Rodriguez and supported Alexander Kristoff at the finish."

Lieuwe Westra (Astana, 74th s.t.)

“After the corner there was a crosswind – for the first 100 riders it wasn’t a problem, but if you are in the back then it’s a problem, and you go to the side of the road and the peloton is broken.”

Andy Schleck (Trek, 83rd s.t.)

“It was a nice start to the season. A bit of crosswind but Fabian [Cancellara] was there and took Fränk [Schleck] and myself up to the front. I think this was really important today because it showed good teamwork; it's easy to lose time with the wind and we showed today we are prepared.

“Everyone knew the crosswinds were coming and 10kms before, there was fighting in the peloton for position. Some guys like [Joaquim] Rodriguez and [Chris] Froome were dropped at this moment [Froome was not dropped, ed.], which is a good sign for us because it’s a little bit a kick in the morale for these guys, and since we were all in the front, it’s a boost in morale for us.”

Peter Velits (BMC, 26th s.t.)

"The stage was pretty simple. It was flat and the wind wasn't that strong to make a big difference. In the end, it came down to a bunch sprint so it was pretty simple. It wasn't easy, but it was straightforward."

Valerio Piva (sports director BMC whose best rider was Greg Van Avermaet in 15th)

"At the end, it was really windy. So we decided to try something. The group was briefly split into three, and André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Team Katusha) were in the second group. But the wind was not so strong and with 10 km to go, it all came back together."

Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo, 30th s.t.)

"To me this is my first action in 2014 and I'm just happy to finally being back in the field. I enjoyed it and it was a nice day to be back on track and to be working in the race rhythm."

Lars Michaelsen (sports director Tinkoff-Saxo whose best rider was Daniele Bennati in 12th)

"There was a lot of cross wind action going on out there and the peloton split up on several occasions. After 138 kilometers of racing, the field was divided into four groups but eventually everything came back together. Daniele (Bennati) wasn't feeling well today and finished outside the top ten."

Andreas Schillinger (NetApp-Endura, 85th s.t.)

"Today we returned to the racing circuit – the first stage of the Tour of Oman. After three quieter days off, getting back into the rhythm of the tour proved to be a bit of a challenge today.

"The day started with breakfast at 7 a.m. because we had a two-hour convoy transfer that left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. to head to the start of the race.

"Once we had arrived at the start of the race (As Suwayq Castle), it was clear that wind wouldn’t dominate the beginning of today’s race. The start was much more relaxed than in Qatar, which also meant that a group of four riders was able to break away shortly after the official start of the race. The group was able to build up a maximum lead of 5:45 minutes, but Lotto quickly decided to take control to keep all options open for André Greipel.

"Things got serious 25 kilometers before the finish line. Just like last year, the direction shifted to the right (east) with wind from the north, basically creating an angle. The field quickly split into three groups, though 15 km before the finish line everyone was back together with all of the sprinters in front.

"Today my job was to prepare the final stretch for Sam Bennett, which actually worked quite well. Unfortunately, after a roundabout two kilometers before the finish line, we were caught on the right side and couldn’t really get out of this position since the wind was also coming from the left. In the end, Greipel won the stage ahead of Howard and Ruffoni.

"Tomorrow we will head into the second stage, which will be slightly more undulating than today, but is also considered a flat stage. Hopefully we will have another chance to prove ourselves in the sprint. The team’s legs are in good shape and everyone is in a great mood. This gives us reason to be hopeful, which makes everything a lot of fun."

Enrico Poitschke (sports director NetApp-Endura whose best rider was Zak Dempster in 21st)

“Today luck didn’t seem to be on our side. Our guys did a great job preparing the sprint for Sam [Bennett] and kept him in the slipstream for as long as possible. Zak wanted to get him into the right position on the last few meters, but it just didn’t happen. There was no gap that the two could have used to really sprint ahead.

“Although we really can’t be satisfied with the result of this stage, we are pleased with how our guys worked together. Tomorrow there will be another sprinting opportunity. Maybe we’ll have a bit more luck then."

Kevyn Ista (IAM, 72nd s.t.)

“We managed to return to the group more easily than we would have in Qatar.  The wind is not as severe here.  I found myself in the echelon because I suffered a puncture.  I was happy to get back to the group after 10 kilometers of chasing.  With 15 kilometers to go we made the juncture, so I was not involved in the sprint.  I did not have time to recover.  Here in Oman my job will be to help the guys in the sprint and then to be there to position the climbers for the hills.  But I am also looking to tweak my shape in time to perform well in the upcoming Classics.”  

Kjell Carlström (IAM whose best rider was Heinrich Haussler in 32nd)

“We had no big problems during the day.  Thomas Löfkvist had a puncture with 20 kilometers to go to the finish, right when the bunch split into two big echelons.  But eventually it all came back together in time for the sprint.  Then Heinrich Haussler was cut off near the end by another rider who had peeled off after having lead out his own leader.”