Swiss veteran Fabian Cancellara, riding for Trek, has won the second stage of the Tour of Oman, and also taken the overall lead, following a 195.5km ride from Al Hazm Castle to Al Bustan.
The former Olympic and world champion, nicknamed 'Spartacus', managed to keep with the leading group on Wednesday until the final two minor climbs before launching a sprint that left Spaniard Alejandro Valverde in second and Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium settling for third spot.
Cancellara, 33, who has won eight stages on the Tour de France between 2004 and 2012 and was a regular wearer of the yellow jersey, takes the leader's red tunic, after a scorching hot day, and a four second lead over Valverde into Thursday's third stage.
Austrian Patrick Konrad, is third in the rankings and five seconds back, as the peloton now look ahead to stage three and a 158km run that begins and finishes at the Al Mussanah Sports City, bordering the Sea of Oman.
Australian Cameron Meyer, racing for Orica GreenEdge, was among those in the leading group, and finished the stage in 10th place.
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