The first two editions of the Tour of Oman were a voyage of discovery for the riders, organisers and especially the curious Oman people, who had never seen professional cycling before but the race was a success and added yet another country to racing calendar. After Fabian Cancellara’s win in 2010 the 2011 edition had a more testing route in the sun of the Arabian Peninsula.
While the Tour of Qatar is dominated by the sprinters, race organiser Eddy Merckx and technical organisers ASO decided to toughen up the route in Oman, while also reducing the length of transfers to keep the riders happy. Contrary to the first two editions, there will be no time trial any more. Despite some stages for the sprinters the steep uphill to Jabal Al Akhdhar in Stage 5 will surely decide the overall winner.