MUSCAT: Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway won the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Oman in Muscat on Saturday.
The Dimension Data rider edged Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet and Marco Canola of Italy in a sprint finish to the 119.5km run from Sifah to the Tourism Ministry building.
“My goal is to be in good form for the classics,” said the 28-year-old stage winner.
Astana team leader Vincenzo Nibali of Italy retained the overall leader’s red jersey, 15 seconds ahead of Frenchman Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and 24 seconds better than teammate Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark.
“We were able to block any attacks, we were very careful,” observed former Tour de France champion Nibali.
Sunday’s final stage starts at The Wave Muscat and ends on the Matrah Corniche after a run of 130.5kms.
Van Garderen on top
American Tejay van Garderen claimed victory and the overall lead in an individual time trial on the fifth stage of the Tour of Andalusia on Saturday.
THe BMC rider took the 21 kilometer route around Alhaurin de la Torre in 27min 05 sec, two seconds ahead of Dutchman Wilco Kelderman with France’s Jerome Coppel a further five seconds back.
Van Garderen holds the same advantage over Kelderman and Coppel in the general classification.
The race concludes on Sunday with a category one climb at the end of the 171km stage from San Roque to Alto Penas Blancas.
