Chris Froome (Sky) proved that he is probably the strongest climber in the Tour of Oman when he escaped with Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) on the final climb in today's fourth stage of the Tour of Oman. A fierce headwind meant that he was caught back but he is happy with his sensations ahead of tomorrow's queen stage.

Chris Froome showed his hand once again as a tough fourth stage of the Tour of Oman neared its conclusion, but it was Peter Sagan who stole the show by breaking late and wrapping up his first win of the season.

Froome led a vastly-reduced peloton over the fourth and final ascent of Bousher Alamrat, and then pushed on with Rigoberto Uran as they swept down the other side.  Despite their best efforts, the duo were hauled back by the 21 riders who remained in contention, and as the road flattened out it was Sagan who made his stage-winning move.

The Cannondale rider edged clear with Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and the active Uran (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step), but outpaced his rivals at the line before celebrating his well-timed triumph.

The result saw Sagan leap to the top of the general classification and the Slovakian now holds a 10-second advantage over Uran in the battle for the red jersey. Froome meanwhile, leads the Team Sky charge in eighth place overall – just 18 seconds off the pace heading into Saturday’s showdown on Green Mountain.

After the stage, Froome explained how events had panned out.

“The team did a fantastic job today. Ben [Swift] took turns on the front for over 100km once the initial breakaway had formed and did some great work to keep them in check.

“When we hit those laps of the climb, Danny [Pate] got us into position and then David [Lopez], Dario [Cataldo] and Kosta [Siutsou] kept a steady tempo at the head of the race.

“Mikel [Nieve] put in a well-timed attack on the third ascent and hauled back the remnants of that break before getting a good gap of his own. It was unfortunate though that he hit a headwind and the bunch were able to bring him back in before the final climb of the day.

“That was when me and Sergio [Henao] took it in turns to try and sneak off the front, and I managed it with Rigo shortly after we’d crested the summit. The headwind meant we couldn’t get much of a gap either though, and as hard as we tried, we couldn’t stay away on the descent.

“Sagan, Nibali and Uran went again when the road flattened out but those of us left in the peloton worked well together and they were only a few seconds ahead at the end.

"It was harder this year because people were attacking into a headwind and that made it easier for people to chase and follow. At the end of the day, we're happy to not have lost."

Froome’s attention will now turn to Saturday’s summit finish which should all-but decide the race, and although the 28 year old is keen to impress, he is keeping one eye on the bigger goals later in the season.

"It looks it will all be decided out on the climb tomorrow. Whoever has managed to save their legs, that will definitely come in handy.

 “Tomorrow’s stage should suit us well because we have a strong group of climbers here. We spent a lot of energy today, but a lot of other teams did too, so that’d shouldn’t be a massive factor. With the GC being as tight as it is, it’s all still to play for, definitely.

“It’s going to be a hard day, and although we’re not racing under any real pressure here, I still want to try and defend my title. That said, when you look at the bigger picture, it’s not the be all and end all, so we’ll give it our best and see what happens.

"I'm really happy with how my legs feel. I think I'm in good shape and I'm able to be part of the front half of the race."

You can read our preview of the race here.