Chris Froome wins 2014 Tour of Oman

Chris Froome (Sky) finished safely in the bunch to seal victory in the 2014 Tour of Oman, while Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) sprinted to win his third stage win ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) and Ireland’s Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura).

Without any serious obstacles on route, Froome and Team Sky were never put under pressure by the men close to him on GC, and comfortably held onto his 26-second lead over Tejay van Garderen (BMC).

There was action among stage hunters looking for success in a breakaway, however. A group of three featuring Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEdge), Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare) and Christopher Juul Jensen (Tinkoff-Saxo) went clear after the race’s climb around 70 kilometres from the finish, and were only caught within the final two kilometres.

In the sprint, many of the usual suspects at this year’s Tour of Oman were again present, with Greipel triumphing again and Bouhanni and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) both contesting. Less familiar a sight was Sam Bennett, who finished in the top three for the first time since his eye-catching performance at last year’s Tour of Britain.

Results
Tour of Oman 2014, stage six: As Sifah to Matrah Corniche, 146.5km
1. Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto in 3-25-41

2. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ

3. Sam Bennett (Irl) NetApp-Endura

4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha

5. Michael Morkoff (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo

6. Filippo Fortin (Ita) Bardiani

7. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

8. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge

9. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana

10. Peter Sagan (Cze) Cannondale all same time

Final overall classification
1. Chris Froome (GBr) Sky

2. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 26 secs

3. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 31 secs

4. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha at 48 secs

5. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin at 57 secs

Chris Froome leads Tour of Oman after mountain stage win

Chris Froome moves into the overall lead in the 2014 Tour of Oman after strong display on the race's queen

Chris Froome on the attack at the Tour of Oman