QURIYAT, Oman: Norwegian all-rounder Edvald Boasson Hagen won the second stage of the Tour of Oman on Wednesday, completing the 162km ride from Omantel Head Office to Quriyat in 4hrs 12mins.
He finished clear of GC contenders, Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali and Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium after a tight sprint following an aggressive ascent of the day’s 2.8km climb.
“I managed to attack and get involved in the final sprint, so it was perfect for me,” said the 28-year-old former Sky man, who also seized the overall leader’s red jersey.
“My team did really well leading on the climb.”
The climb saw overnight leader Bob Jungels dropped by 59sec while Australia’s Richie Porte was also distanced and trails by over three minutes.
After a consolidated 20km acceleration by the Astana and Dimension teams which smashed the peloton, Ireland’s Dan Martin of Etixx was also left trailing by 1min 41sec.
Boasson Hagen leads overall by four seconds from Nibali and six seconds from Van Avermaet.
Thursday’s third stage covers 176.5km from Al Sawadi Beach to Nasseem Park and looks set to end in a bunch sprint.
Friday’s stage however looks cut out for the pure climbers such as Nibali or Frenchman Romain Bardet.
Bennati bags 1st stage
Italian Daniele Bennati claimed the first stage of the Tour of Andalucia on Wednesday in a sprint finish through the streets of Seville.
The Tinkoff-Saxo rider saw off Belgian Bert Van Lerberghe and Spain’s Juan Jose Lobato to take the 165.2km stage in 3hr 56min 02sec.
The five-stage race sees its first big climb on the 186.3km ride from Palomares del Rio to Cordoba on Thursday.
Russian accepts 18-month ban
Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Olga Zabelinskaya has accepted an 18-month doping ban which clears the Russian cyclist to compete at this year’s games in Rio de Janeiro.
The International Cycling Union says it reached a settlement with Zabelinskaya to drop its appeals process at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The UCI says the case was “resolved via an acceptance of consequences,” after Zabelinskaya accepted the 18-month ban which expired in September.
Zabelinskaya tested positive for the banned stimulant octopamine in March 2014.
The Russian Cycling Federation cleared her of wrongdoing, prompting the UCI to seek sanctions by filing an appeal to CAS. That appeal is now withdrawn and she is free to compete.
Zabelinskaya won bronze medals in the road race and time trial at the 2012 London Olympics.
