Alexander Kristoff of the Katusha team continued his fine start to the 2016 campaign after the Norwegian ace won sprint finish to claim stage three
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Alexander Kristoff of the Katusha team continued his fine start to the 2016 campaign after the Norwegian ace won sprint finish to claim stage three of the Tour of Oman.
The flat 176 kilometre effort from Al Sawadi Beach to Naseem Park was animated by a handful of riders that took off for the break of the day.
The main bunch were happy to let them enjoy the limelight out in front, but as the kilometres to the line started to wear away so did the escapees.
The remnants of the break were finally caught with 10 kilometres of the stage left.
The sprinters then jockeyed their way through the chaos ready for the sprint finale.
Kristoff, who won three sprints at the recent Tour of Qatar, comfortably outpaced Dutch rider Moreno Hofland and Belgian Roy Jans for the win.
Kristoff’s compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen finished tenth to retain his overall race lead.
The Norwegian has a four-second lead over Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali and is six seconds clear over Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium with three stages remaining.