Robert Gesink (Belkin) kept his options open when he finished safely in the bunch in today's tough stage of the Tour of Oman. While he kept his powder dry for tomorrow, his teammate Lars Boom tried to go on the attack in the finale.

Robert Gesink, the captain of the Belkin Pro Cycling Team in Tour of Oman, tested himself today after the first two flat stages. The Dutchman had little trouble with the climbs on the 145-kilometre course between Bank Muscat and Al Bustan. He finished 42nd in the same time as winner André Greipel of team Lotto-Belisol. 

Lars Boom attacked on the final climb with Fabian Cancellara, Chris Froome, Peter Sagan and Zdenek Stybar, but the group caught him in the final kilometre. He placed 22nd. 

“Those men took off with 1.5 kilometres to go and I managed to bridge,” said Boom. “For one, I tried to do so because Froome was there and I was hoping to close the gap for Robert and also because I felt good enough to sprint for the win. I was confident after I easily tackled the climbs beforehand. The peloton was still quite large, however, and most of the sprinters were still up there. Unfortunately, they managed to reel us in.” 
 

Sprinter Barrry Markus was unable to mix in for the stage victory. He explained, “I was dropped on the climb with five kilometres to go.” 
 

Sports Director Jan Boven said that he expects a heavy day tomorrow.

“Today was a day to just see how it goes. Tomorrow we have to tackle a steep climb four times in the final. I think the first real gaps will show tomorrow.”

You can read our preview of the race here.