Greipel leads Tour of Oman

German cyclist Andre Greipel has won the third stage of the Tour of Oman to take the overall lead 8sec ahead of Australian Leigh Howard

Germany's Andre Greipel took over the lead in the Tour of Oman after the Lotto rider claimed Thursday's third stage, a 145 kilometre ride from Muscat to Al Bustan.

Greipel got the better of Slovakia's Peter Sagan and Nacer Bouhanni of

France in a sprint finish.

Greipel, who also won Tuesday's openeing stage, prised the leader's red jersey from Australian GreenEDGE rider Leigh Howard who now trails the German by eight seconds.