Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky maintains his spot as the overall leader in the Tour of Oman as he wins the third stage of the event last Tuesday.

Boasson Hagen finished in front of Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions), showing that he wasn’t planning on relinquishing his hold on the leader’s jersey anytime soon. The 22-year old star of Team Sky is currently in top form and looking to add to his 2009 accomplishments, which include victories at the Tour of Britain, Ghent-Wevelgem, and a stage win at the Giro d’Italia.

Team Sky did a good job of delivering Hagen to the finish, as they had to fight and pull back a four-man breakaway while nearing the final stretch. Teamwork and strategy did the job, as the Team Sky riders maintained their cool even as Gatis Smukulis (Ag2r), Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil), Laurent Mangel (Saur-Sojasun) and Ben King…

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It was a good finish for Tyler Farrar of Team Garmin-Transitions as he ended up in 4th place in the first stage of the inaugural 2010 Tour of Oman.

The American rider talked with lead-out teammate Robert Hunter about his experience of riding in the dark during last Sunday’s race, and said that he was not ready to take the risks of doing an all-out sprint in those conditions.

“I tried to get up there but I wasn’t ready to commit that little bit and take those extra risks in the dark,” he says. “I was debating if I wanted to try and sprint in these conditions because it was just not worth taking the risk.”

It wasn’t all bad news for the Garmin-Transitions rider, however, since he unexpectedly found himself within reach of Team Sky’s lead-out train near the end. Farrar grabbed the opportunity to latch on and…

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Jimmy Casper of Team Saur-Sojasun scores first blood as he wins the first stage at the Tour of Oman this Sunday, and earns the honor of wearing the red jersey for Stage 2 on Monday.

The French cyclist had a bunch of sprinters at his heels, including Edvald Biasson Hagen of Team Sky and Kenny De Haes of Team Omega Pharma-Lotto, as he looked to finish the 61km race, but managed to hold them off to get the victory. Boasson Hagen finished second and De Haes rounded up the podium finish.

It was not until 4 kilometers down the circuit when a small breakaway group, consisting of Wilfried Cretskens (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Joaquin Novoa Menedez (Cervélo TestTeam) and Cédric Coutouly (Saur-Sojasun), decided to start going for the lead in the peloton. They managed to stay in front until 3 laps later when another three riders, Martin Reimer (Cervélo), Peter Wrolich (Milram)…

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Chris Sutton of Team Sky wants more stage wins after getting one in the 2010 Tour Down Under, and he is looking to grab his share in the upcoming Tour of Oman next week.

The tour, which will start this February 14, will provide another opportunity for Sutton to show his skills and get some wins for his team. He’ll be one of the protected riders of Team Sky in the event, but Sutton says that he’s also ready and willing to do whatever is asked of him and play a supporting role for another sprinter on the team if he needs to.

Sutton’s confidence is apparently born out of a string of successes from the last several months. He had won a stage and grabbed the second place overall at the Tour of Britain, won three stages and also finished second at the Herald Sun Tour, and winning the…

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The start lists for both the 2010 Tour of Qatar and the new Tour of Oman are filling up with a lot of big-name pro-tour riders. The change in climate could be one of the reasons, but one thing is certain: it’s still early in the season, and these riders are looking to fine-tune their form in preparation for more events later this year.

The Amaury Sports Organization (ASO), race organizer for both events, have released the start lists for the Qatar and Oman tours, showing off top-notch cycling talent belonging to at least ten ProTour teams, including the under-23 Trek-Livestrong team.

Last season’s overall winner in the Tour of Qatar, Tom Boonen, will be sporting number one for this year’s race. Boonen has been in dominant form in this event since the inaugural edition, and he will be going after his 3rd conscutive (and 4th overall) win.

Team Sky has…

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