PREVIEW | Tour of Oman 2024 - Adam Yates ultimate favourite to win desert race

Preview. From the 10th to the 14th of February racing will resume in the Middle East, with the traditional Tour of Oman bringing an interesting set of stages that will suit sprinters, climbers and classics riders simultaneously.

A flat day across the desert and the only expected bunch sprint of the race. It is a fast day on the bike with an overall downhill trend, however the finale features a small trap as the final kilometer has a 3% grade to the line, which will make it a little hard for some of the fast men.

Stage 2 of the Omani race will be a day for the puncheurs. A few ascents throughout the day will warm up the riders, however it will be a day where everyone will save their legs for the final ascent into Qurayyat. The final climb is an inconsistent 2.7 kilometers at 6.7% and can create some important early-race differences.

Stage 3 is a day very similar to the previous one. It will be all about the final ascent, which is suited to the puncheurs. The 169 kilometers are largely flat, and then the ascent to the Eastern Mountain is 4.7 kilometers at 7.7%. However this average hides a dark secret, which is that the final 1.5 kilometers average over 12% and are brutal.

Another explosive day at the Tour of Oman with explosive climbs. 207 kilometers on the menu, the biggest stage of the race. It features a climb of 3.4 kilometers at 8.9% entering the final third of the stage, but it will be a warm-up. The riders find a treble of ascents to conclude the day which can ssuit many different riders. In the final 171.1 kilometers the riders find 1.1 kilometers at 5.7%, 2.7 kilometers at 6.7% and finally the final one summits with a kilometer to go and is 1.7 kilometers at 5.9%.

The queen stage is the final day of racing in Oman. A short stage, mostly flat, with all the focus on the Green Mountain summit finish. This is a brutal ascent that is very well known, due to it's exposure to the desert sun, barren landscape and crazy gradients. The climb is 5.8 kilometers at over 10% but notably features gradients quite above that.

*** Adam Yates
** Jan Hirt, Cristián Rodríguez, Finn Fisher-Black
* Mauri Vansevenant, Jan Hirt, Fausto Masnada, Louis Meintjes, Emanuel Buchmann, Ben Zwiehoff, Warren Barguil, Merhawi Kudus

Pick: Adam Yates