Tinkoff-Saxo joins the clash between grand tour favorites and classics riders at Tour of Oman, the third and final Middle Eastern race of the early season covering six stages. Tinkoff-Saxo is looking to reap the benefits from a thorough early season build-up as the strong squad aims for both GC and stage wins in the bumpy desert of Oman.

Proven climber and stage-race talent Rafal Majka will lead the team’s efforts in the general classification, while Peter Sagan, will aim for stage wins coming straight off the back of Tour of Qatar. The prominent squad is completed by Daniele Bennati, Matti Breschel, Roman Kreuziger, Edward Beltran, Ivan Rovny and Pawel Poljanski.

“We’re sending a strong team to Oman with some big names on the roster. Rafal Majka will be our team captain aiming for at least the top-5 in the GC. Sagan has shown in Qatar that he’s, where he should be at this time of the season, and he’ll be targeting stage wins. We have some hilly stages in Oman that will suit him better than the pancake flat sprinter stages in the Qatari desert”, says Sean Yates, the team’s sport director at Tour of Oman, who is leading his first race for Tinkoff-Saxo.

“I’m truly excited about this race. I’ve been away from World Tour cycling for a couple of years, so it’s great to be back in the fold – especially on an ambitious team with some serious contenders. I’ve seen how people work together in this team and combined with the key players we have, also here in Oman, makes it exciting”.

Clash of favorites

Tour of Oman has become one of the first meetings between major stage-race favorites and riders aiming for the cobbled classics. Oman presents the peloton with a versatile route featuring flat sprinter’s stages, days in hilly terrain and the traditional stage to Green Mountain featuring a 5.7km climb of 10.6 percent. Sean Yates is certain that this is where the climbers will decide, who wins the race.

“The GC will be decided on stage four, as 5.7 kilometers of 10.6 percent is undoubtedly enough to shake things up. It’s an important year for Rafal to continue building his career and to improve on the great results he had last year. It’s early in the season, so there’s no reason to get carried away. But he has shown good signs at our training camps and it will be an important test against the likes of Nibali, Rodriguez and Valverde”, comments Sean Yates.

Rafal Majka returns to racing after a winter season of multiple training camps. And the 25-year old Pole is ready to take on the role as team captain.

“I’m really excited to begin the season and to be racing with my teammates. I think we have a very strong team for Oman and it’s a privilege to have this kind of support from big riders like Bennati, Kreuziger and Breschel”, tells Rafal Majka. “My goal is right on top of Green Mountain. Of course, it’s my first race of the season, so it’s impossible to know exactly where I am but I have a good feeling”.

Rafal’s co-captain Peter Sagan has already seen action at the Tour of Qatar, where the Slovak conquered the white jersey in his first race for Tinkoff-Saxo. He’s now on the lookout for stage wins in Oman.

“I’m ready for Oman. I had a good build up in Qatar and now it’s important for me to recover from my efforts, as it was really windy with some tough stages. It will for sure become a very exciting race with some interesting stage profiles”, comments Sagan, whose big aim of the season is the cobbled classics in March and April.