Peter Sagan won stage two of the Tour of Oman to give Cannondale Pro Cycling their first ever victory and move into the overall race lead.
The Slovak launched a stinging counter-attack after two late climbs split the peloton, finishing five seconds ahead of Tony Gallopin (Radioshack-Leopard) and Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) on the 146km stage from Fanja to Al Bustan.
Stage one winner Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), who started the day as race leader, finished more than five minutes back, leaving Sagan at the top of the overall standings with a nine second advantage over Gallopin.
“I’m really happy about this first win because the team wanted it and waited for it,” said Sagan.
“The fact that I took this win doesn’t count for very much, what is important is that Cannondale Pro Cycling won.
“Having broken the ice means a run without pressure. We’ll continue to work to achieve new successes at races throughout the year.”
Team Sky leader Chris Froome finished seven seconds adrift of Sagan on the stage and now lies sixth overall, 17 seconds behind the Slovak, leaving the Tour de France runner-up in a strong position ahead of Thursday’s Queen stage.
Team Sky directeur sportif Nicolas Portal said: “It was a good day for us and I’m happy with how we performed.
“It was very hard in those last 25km, especially with those two categorised climbs. The first one was very steep with a constantly changing gradient, but we had the numbers at the front and Pete, Vasil, Richie and Bradley were able to control things right up until the second climb for Froomey.
“When we hit that, the road was so wide that other riders began attacking left, right and centre, but we set a solid pace for Froomey and he proved he’s in great condition. He put four seconds into Alberto Contador today and is now very well positioned on the GC.”
Wednesday’s third stage will see the peloton tackle a 190km route from Nakhal Fort to Wadi Dayqah Dam, where Sagan won a stage last year.
Tour of Oman 2013 – stage two – result
1) Peter Sagan (SVK) – Cannondale Pro Cycling – 3:48:36 hours
2) Tony Gallopin (FRA) – Radioshack-Leopard +5″
3) Martin Elmiger (SWI) – IAM Cycling – same time
4) Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) – Astana
5 Zdenek Stybar (CZE) – Omega Pharma-QuickStep +7″
6) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – same time
7) Marco Bandiera (ITA) – IAM Cycling +11″
8) Marco Marcato (ITA) – Vacansoleil-DCM – same time
9) Daryl Impey (RSA) – Orica-GreenEDGE
10) Nacer Bouhanni (FRA) – FDJ
General classification
1) Peter Sagan (SVK) – Cannondale Pro Cycling – 7:53:25 hours
2) Tony Gallopin (FRA) – Radioshack-Leopard +9″
3) Martin Elmiger (SWI) – IAM Cycling +11″
4) Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) – Astana +15″
5) Nacer Bouhanni (FRA) – FDJ +17″
6) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – same time
7) Zdenek Stybar (CZE) – Omega Pharma-QuickStep
8) Stijn Vandenbergh (BEL) – Omega Pharma-QuickStep +21″
9) Marco Bandiera (ITA) – IAM Cycling – same time
10) Peter Velits (SVK) – Omega Pharma-QuickStep
