To ensure the safety of the riders, the Tour of Oman race organisers A.S.O. announced today that they have modified stage 3 due to inclement weather. Stage 3 was originally designed to start in Bid Bid and finish 169.3km later with the climb of Eastern Mountain (4.6km at 8%) but this route cannot take place due to the difficult meteorological conditions in Oman currently.
According to the race statement, the decision was made in collaboration with the UCI commissaires, and the representatives of the teams and riders (AIGCP, CPA).
The shorter stage will now start from Naseem Garden and finish in Al Bustan for a total distance of 76 kilometres.
Sunday’s stage 2 started under sunny skies, until a deluge of rain hit the peloton in the final hour, the first rain to hit the Tour of Oman since the race began in 2010. That rare blast of rain and wind knocked out TV transmission for the decisive climb.
Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates) took the stage win and overall lead on the rain-soaked finale in Qurayyat. The New Zealander has a six-second lead on Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step) and eight seconds on his teammate Diego Ulissi.
“The weather was crazy. Because it hasn’t rained for so long the roads were very slippery, something I have never encountered before,” Lamperti described the conditions in a team release.
Though the new stage profile was not yet available at the time of publication, the Muscat Classic, which took place the day before the Tour of Oman, also finished in Al Bustan. On that day, Fisher-Black soloed to victory after an explosive attack on the final climb of Al Jissah only five kilometres from the finish line. Lamperti was second on that day.
