Six stages, 13 classified climbs and a mountain finish are on the menu for the eighth edition of the race.
Once again, the Tour of Oman welcomes the peloton with a challenging course, which will provide plenty of opportunities to sprinters, attackers and climbers alike early in the season. It goes without saying that of the six stages, the most important will be the one concluding atop Jabal Al Akhdhar, "the Green Mountain", a 5.7km Hors Catégorie ascent averaging 10.5% which is set to feature on the penultimate day of the race.
A stage winner at the previous edition, when a daring attack on the final descent to Al Bustan opened him the road to his maiden victory in the Quick-Step Floors jersey, 24-year-old Bob Jungels returns at the start, thus continuing his adventure in the Middle East, after recently completing the Dubai Tour, where he was a quintessential part of Marcel Kittel's impressive lead-out train.
Following a successful campaign in Argentina, where he kicked off his season in spectacular style at the Vuelta a San Juan by becoming the first ever road rider to win a race on a disc brake-equipped bike, Tom Boonen will be another important rider of the Quick-Step Floors setup, which will also include Eros Capecchi, David De La Cruz – who's coming off the back of a strong Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana – Laurens De Plus, Iljo Keisse, Yves Lampaert and Niki Terpstra.
Photo credit: ©BrakeThrough Media
Yves Lampaert 
