Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team had the plan in place for stage 1 of Tour of Oman. Unfortunately, the final meters were costly. Gert Steegmans — the leadout for Tom Boonen in Tour of Qatar last week — was the designated sprinter. Boonen pulled for Steegmans this time around. Unfortunately, Steegmans lost Boonen about 500 meters from the finish in an aggressive stage overall, making it impossible to contest the final sprint that Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) went on to win.
There was also a crash involving Bert Grabsch at one of the only corners of the race.
"Grabsch crashed in a roundabout more or less 30 km from the finish," Sports Director Wilfried Peeters said. "But it was without consequence. He will be at the start tomorrow."
Denis Galimzyanov (Team Katusha) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) were second and third, respectively.
