Tour of Oman 2016: Nibali takes Queen Stage and overall lead

Results stage 4 Tour of Oman

1. Vincenzo Nibali (ita)
2. Romain Bardet (fra) + 0.09
3. Jakob Fuglsang (den) + 0.12
4. Tom Dumoulin (nld) + 0.18
5. Rui Costa (por) + 0.38
6. Merhawi Kudus (eri) + 0.43
7. George Bennett (nzl) s.t.
8. Canty Bredan (aus) + 0.45
9. Floris De Tier (bel) + 1.08
10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (nor) + 1.10

GC after stage 4
1. Vincenzo Nibali (ita)
2. Romain Bardet (fra) + 0.06
3. Jakob Fuglsang (den) + 0.24
4. Tom Dumoulin (nld) + 0.40
5. Rui Costa (por) + 0.54
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (nor) + 1.16
7. Canty Bredan (aus) + 1.31
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (ita) + 1.38
9. Merhave Kudus (eri) + 1.41
10. Gianluca Brambilla (ita) + 1.59

Race report
Early in the race Kenny Dehaes breaks clear (as always in Oman), this time he is flanked by Bjorn Thurau. But with 6 kms done the duo is caught.

Cimolai and Oss are next to get clear, with Keisse, De Vries, Steels, Pfingsten, Antonini, Stenuit, White and Reihs bridging the gap. These ten riders cooperate well and after 1 hour in the saddle they enjoy a 4 minute lead. Average speed: 46.1 kmph.

Then the peloton reacts to keep the gap lingering there. Best ranked rider in the front group is Daniel Oss, who is 4 minutes adrift, and for a moment it looks like the big guns in the pack don’t mind about the day win.

But appearances are deceiving. At the steep slopes Green Mountain all hell breaks loose. To begin with, Eduardo Sepúlveda makes a name for himself. He tracks down whats left of the front group and is alone in the lead until 3 kilometres under the top. Nibali and Bardet take over with the Italian outperforming the 24-year old AG2R-rider in the last kilometre.

Bardet now is 6 seconds down on Nibali, so fireworks are to be expected for tomorrow’s hilly stage.

Tour of Oman 2016 stage 4: Route maps, height profiles, and more

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All stages

Profile 4th stage

Final kilometres

Route and profile Green Mountain

Route 4th stage

Tour of Oman Tweets

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