Cavendish, Groves highlight Tour of Oman startlist

Sprinters and climbers alike will get their chances at the Tour of Oman, with the early-season race renowned for its tough competition and picturesque backdrops.

Tour of Oman 2019 Source: Tour of Oman

The Tour of Oman is set to feature on SBS in 2022 from February 10-15, with daily highlights from the racing on SBS On Demand as the riders tackle the varied terrain of the by turns sprint-friendly and mountainous race.

Fast men are expected to be immediately in action in this 11th edition of the race, provided they survive the windy traps of the first two stages leading to the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Suhar Corniche.

With Mark Cavendish (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl) in the race, these stages promise plenty of white-knuckle sprinting action. There aren’t many riders in the whole history of cycling that can match Cavendish’s achievements, but he’ll be met by young gun Kaden Groves (BikeExchange-Jayco), along with Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) and Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) as prominent names.

23-year-old Australian sprinter Groves was in an optimistic mood heading into the race, his third season in the professional peloton shaping as a potential breakthrough year for the Queenslander.

“I had two days of racing in Valencia which was good to get my feeling again of being in the bunch,” said Groves, “and now I am really looking forward to the race in Oman as it is the first goal of the year for me. We have a good team to do some lead-outs and we also have Colleoni for the hillier GC days.

“It will be my first time doing this race and I am just really keen to start the year off well. Hopefully we get can some good results, I really believe that with this team, and my current form, we can get a podium and some wins.”

Groves will be joined by fellow Australians Cameron Meyer and Callum Scotson, making a stopover in Oman on their return to Europe, after a busy month of racing in Australia. The duo will give the squad strong options on the hillier stages along with young up and coming climbing talent Kevin Colleoni.

New Zealand recruit Campbell Stewart will make his debut appearance for the Australian outfit in Oman and will be joined by fellow track star Kelland O’Brien, also making his first racing appearance of the 2022 season in Team BikeExchange-Jayco colours. Rounding out the mixed seven-rider squad will be Alex Konychev, coming direct from the Saudi Tour, where he helped assist the team to two spectacular victories for Dylan Groenewegen.

Aside from three potential sprint finishes on Stages 1, 2 and 6, the riders will also get to test their legs on some hillier stages, such as the third day’s 2.8km final climb, averaging 6.5% up to Qurayyat, and stage five’s summit finish in Jabal Al Akhdhar/Green Mountain. This penultimate stage has a 5.7km climb averaging out at 10.5%, which is set to really shape the final general classification standings.

Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates), Fausto Masnada (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl) and Rein Taaramae (Intermarche Wanty Gobert) will be among the climbers looking to make their mark on the climb and claim the overall victory for the race.

Miles Scotson is the only other Australian on the startlist at present, he’ll likely be a key man in supporting Arnaud Demare’s sprints.