Alexander Kristoff’s victory, as well as securing Katusha’s first win of the season, will hopefully also see Team Sky taking note. Kristoff is in Oman as his team’s sole sprinting option, with the team instead geared towards supporting Joaquim Rodriguez and Dani Moreno on the climbs to follow. It meant he had to do it on his own to win the stage but he managed to do exactly that, and in some style. Without a sprint train it will not always be so easy, but Kristoff at least proved it is possible for a team to compete on two fronts.
In his post-race interview he claimed the pressure is now off the team as they have their stage victory before Moreno and Rodriguez take over. And Katusha are not the only ones – both Lotto-Belisol and Omega Pharma-Quickstep have arrived equipped with a strong lead-out and a good climbing unit. Team Sky have brought Ben Swift as their sprinting option in Oman, but so far the Yorkshireman has missed out on the top ten in both stages. If Froome wins overall, Sky will have completed their chief objective – but Kristoff has proved you can compete on two fronts.
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