In the absence of defending champion Froome, his successor as Tour de France champion, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), is taking centre-stage instead.

Nibali has raced in Oman every year since victory atop Green Mountain in 2012, but started his 2014 season slowly and was no match for Froome.

This year, however, the Italian has promised to kick on quicker and coach Paolo Slongo is confident The Shark will fulfil that promise.

Having tested his legs as part of Andrea Guardini’s Dubai Tour lead-out train, Nibali will provisionally ride with right-hand man Jakob Fuglsang and ex-Team Sky man Dario Cataldo in Oman.

Should Nibali start slowly again, both of those two are capable of mounting a GC challenge of their own despite the strong opposition.

With The Shark in bullish mood, however, expect plenty to come from Nibali.