My first race of 2011 takes me to the Middle East, and the country of Oman. Strong crosswinds, desert sands and blistering heat, this isn't going to be an easy ride.
Stage wins will be the main aim here, and hopefully the Points Jersey. Sadly the Leader's Jersey will be out of the question, thanks to the Summit Finish and Hilly Time Trial on stages 4 and 5 respectively.
The team come here with the Overall Victory in mind. Peter Velits will lead the team, supported by Marco Pinotti and Kanstanstin Siutsou. My lead out train will be made up of Bert Grabash, Lars Bak and my trusted right hand man, Mark Renshaw. Gatis Smukulis is the final member of the squad, who will given a free role at the race, but will also chip in with Domestique duties on the stages.
15th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 1
(Al Sawadi - Al Seeb)
Stage 1 of the Tour of Oman is nice and flat! Looking good for a mass sprint at the end!
Race Report
7km: A group of 6 attacked off the front, only gaining 45 seconds or so.
11km: As the gap grew to the minute mark, more attacks went off the front of the peleton, making 16 riders in total.
20km: Lampre-ISD and Movistar saw that size of break far too dangerous and it was quickly shut down.
27km: 3 more riders went off the front, including good friend Rob Hayles (Endura Racing). It would be Rob who would take the points at the first and second Intermediate Sprints, as this break opened up a gap of 5'43".
132km: With the day's break away pulled back to 1 minute, and the peleton at almost full gas, Juan Antonio Flecha shocks us all and attacks! He must be either feeling really good or he is just insane!
140km: Time to get the guys into formation. I give the shout, and the HTC train hits the front hard, mopping up the day's break in the process!
145km: I was nicely tucked in behind Renshaw! Man, we are flying along! Sky's Greg Henderson sat behind me, riding on our coat-tails.
156km: Mark drops me off in the perfect position! Clean air in front, and I am ready to go!
157km: But no! Pipped at the end! Ventoso just had something else! I thought I had this, but the legs just left me in the last 25 metres! After all the work from the HTC guys, I come home 4th!
16th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 2
(The Wave, Muscat - Al Wutayya)
Stage 2 is yet another flat stage. After yesterday's disappointing finish, I was more motivated than ever to bring it home for the team!
Race Report
11km: After a few meaningless attacks, it was group of 6 who were finally able to make their acceleration worthwhile. Slowly, they built up a lead of about 1'32" over the peleton.
19km: Further attacks were launched from the peleton, as we approached the first Intermediate Sprint point. Nick Nuyens (SaxoBank - Sungard) and Matthew Hayman (Sky) were the two big names in the attacks.
26km: With a number of small groups spread across the route, Movistar and Lampre again took control of the chase. Matthew Hayman took the points at the first Intermediate Sprint.
96km: At the second Intermediate Sprint, Roy Curvers (Skil - Shimano) took first place. Only 3'02" separated the lead group on the road and the main peleton, with several smaller groups in the middle.
121km: With the finish fast approaching, all but 2 of the break remained. However, it was only a 23" lead, and on these straight long roads, they were just dangling out in front of the peleton like a carrot in front of a donkey!
126km:With everyone back together, mass sprint finish was certain. But others had different ideas. First Leif Hoste (Katusha), and then Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) tried little digs of the front, but they were not getting far.
129km: HTC orders given! Hit the front, and hit it hard! I didn't want any more attacks off the front, and I didn't want to any other teams swamping us in the final 1km again!
133km: It is all going to plan. Marco, Bert and Lars do a fantastic job keeping the pace up, and Mark yet again puts me in a great position in the final metres! Time for me to go!
135km: YES!!!! What a Finish!! I take home the victory for the team! They did a superb job in the final 10km to set this up, and I am thrilled to finish off their great work!
@sutty68: Yes up to 3rd! Hoping for victory on stage 3. Head into the mountains in the leader's jersey, and also give me a 38" buffer to the main GC guys, thanks to bonus seconds
@Jakstar22: That's the plan!!
@Ian Butler: The team were great. Everything went to plan! I will repay them back when we hit the mountains! I think I will become domestique on stage 4!
Sorry for the delay in the story. I have purchased a new laptop, and only just been able to transfer all the information over.
So I will try and update this evening, but just to let you know, that this laptop is a hell of a lot better than my old one, so looking forward to better graphics and smoother gameplay
17th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 3
(Sur - Sur)
Stage 3 is yet another pan flat day on the road! Looking quite overcast today, so hopefully it won't be as hot. Todays aim is to take the victory and the Leader's Jersey before tomorrow's Summit Finish.
Race Report
18km: Yet again, the day began with a big group getting away, 15 riders in total. It was safe to say that Movistar were not letting that one get too far ahead.
63km: In fact, the break went nowhere. Gained about 1'12" on the main peleton before it was brought back just after the first Intermediate Sprint.
67km: All was calm for just 4km! Yet another big break, this time 19 riders, went off the front, and yet again it was pulled back by Movistar.
82km: The peleton settled down for a while, before Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) ignited some pace again. He went off the front with some real venom, and was soon joined by Leif Hoste (Katusha).
97km: Our guys and Movistar saw this as a major threat, to both the GC standings and to today's finish. We wanted a sprint at the end, and by the looks of it, so did Moivstar.
136km: After a long hard fight, we finally caught the Flecha and Hoste. Movistar seemed not to really chase the two riders out front, meaning we had to commit more guys to the relaying and pace setting. I was going to have a much weaker lead out now. Marco was completely spent, and Peter had to hold back in his efforts, with tomorrow's summit finish ahead of him.
144km: Victory for Petacchi! The guys worked great again at the finish. Weakened lead-out or no weakened lead-out, I cannot fault their efforts! Bert did a longer turn to make up for the loss of Marco, and I got my positioning wrong as the sprint started! I was the width of a rim off getting 3rd in the end, but I will take 5th, considering where I started my sprint!
18th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 4
(Sultan Qaboos University - Jabal al Akhdhar)
A summit finish is what awaits us on stage 4. Today it would all be about Peter, and getting him in a string position ahead of tomorrow ITT.
Race Report
12km: The stage began with a number of big attacks. 12 riders got away in the end, most notably Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky), as well as Lars, who was given a free role today.
18km: Lars set most of the early pace as part of the break, and so went off on his own. He pushed on hard, opening up a 2'23" gap on the other escapees, and taking all the Intermediate Sprint points in the process.
36km: It was Lampre who took up control of the peleton, working for Michele Scarponi.
109km: With the climb to the finish looming in the distance, race leader Alessandro Petacchi attacked of the front, but only gained a handful of seconds before being dragged back by SaxoBank - Sungard.
147km: As Lars hit the base of the climb, only 49" separated him from everyone else, and within 2km of the climb, he was caught. It was a great ride from Lars, and really took the pressure of us in the main group.
149km: First to make the move in the peleton was Daniel Moreno (Katusha). The Spanish rider looked strong as he danced on the peddles.
151km: Next to go was Peter, going off hard in search of Moreno. He was followed by Jérôme Coppel (Saur-Sojasun), Alberto Contador (SaxoBank) and Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana).
155km: But Moreno held on! Great victory from him, crossing the line 19" ahead of Peter and Coppel, and Contador a further 7" behind them.
155km: I come across the line with the main peleton, some 4'36" behind the winner Moreno.
15th - 20th February 2011 - Tour of Oman 
