Tour of Oman 2013 - Stage 3 race report

A team briefing without the team leader - Cannondale were hatching their plans for stage 3, their star Peter Sagan was staying cool in the car. Here’s the stage that lay before the Tour of Oman peloton on Wednesday: the longest of the race at 190 kilometres from Nakhal Fort to Wadi Dayah Dam. A tasty climb in the middle, then a series of short undulations at the end on the way to the Dam - a finish Sagan knows well from his win there last year. So how do you stop a man like Sagan? Swords? Or better still, guns? That may have been the question that had two of the world’s top Grand Tour riders in deep conversation at the start. Meanwhile, a big shout out to Champion System’s Bobbie Traksel - the Dutch escape artist was planning to go on the break again. Not so easy, as he explained. “Sometimes you need to fight for one hour and sometimes you need to fight for 10-20 minutes, but it almost never goes the first break and you need to feel when you think it’s the real breakaway, and I have a little bit a good feeling for it and I’m happy with that.” Well, it didn’t take too long after rolling out past Nakhal’s spectacular old fort. Unlike the past two days, Traksel had an extra two riders for company: the foursome also comprising teammate Chan Jang, Japan’s Yusuke Hatanaka and Bardiani Valvolve-CSF Inox’s Christian Delle Stelle - wow, that’s a mouthful! Traksel was allowed to take maximum points at the first intermediate sprint at 37 kilometres, at which point the break had a maximum advantage of 9 minutes 10. With splendid sunshine beating down upon the riders, there really appeared to be no rush to hurry things up. Three hours passed by at a rather sedate 38 kilometres an hour. A brief flurry of excitement on the climb of the day - Bousher Alamrat at 90km. Delle Stelle clearly decided to go this one alone, but crucially Traksel was second over the top. The peloton tapped out a tempo behind, this being nowhere near enough to the finish to rouse the big stars into action. The descent provided an opportunity for watering stops at the roadside. Traksel decided his time out front was sufficient and he re-joined the herd. But Delle Stelle wasn’t done yet - looking for company, he waited for Jang and Hatanaka to re-join him - and the trio forged a new lead of 4 minutes 10. But Cannondale persisted with their driving effort - and with around 20km to go, it was all back together. Now for their man to finish the job off, and that he did - in some style as well. Sagan first, ahead of BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet and Radioshack’s Tony Gallopin, with Contador clearly positioning himself for Thursday by taking fourth place. Traksel’s heroics earned him another trip to the podium for the Most Aggressive rider jersey and plenty of adulation. While Sagan hogged the rest that was on offer: red leader’s jersey? Yes, please. Oh, and I’ll have a green points jersey, too. And wait, how about a white one for good measure? “Tomorrow is the hardest stage in the Tour of Oman and I think tomorrow is for other riders, not for me.” He’s right, of course, but we doubt he’ll wave goodbye to the red jersey without a fight. Phil Sheehan GCN in Oman.