Neo-pro Alessandro Tonelli was part of a long breakaway in Tour of Oman Stage 3 that was held around Al Mussanah Sports City for 158.5km.

Tonelli joined the Topsport duo of Jef Van Meirhaeghe and Preben Van Hecke as the trio attacked a few kilometers after the official start. They got an advantage of 9:15 with 120km to go. In the second part of the stage, the peloton raised the pace and got close to the breakaway.

After the last intermediate sprint Van Meirhaeghe let his two companions go. Tonelli and Van Hecke continued their effort until 18km to go when the peloton caught them, after a breakaway of almost 130km.

As expected the stage was decided by a bunch sprint won by Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) ahead of Guardini (Astana) and Pelucchi (IAM Cycling). Unfortunately Sonny Colbrelli missed the sprint. He was in good position in the last km behind Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), but he was forced to brake and lost any chance of a good result

”It was very hot, my Sportek marked 43 °C," Tonelli said. "We also found some crosswind on the road and so it wasn’t an easy breakaway despite the flat route. With my two Belgian companions we tried to manage the effort and the advantage. We knew the peloton had the gap under control but I pushed strongly  until the end. Of course it was a good experience. This is my first stage race as a pro and I have a lot to learn. Maybe I’ll try again in the next stages."