For the first time in 2014, Vincenzo Nibali rode at the front of the peloton when he joined Peter Sagan and Rigoberto Uran in the race-winning move in today's stage of the Tour of Oman. While he ultimately had to settle for 3rd, he was happy to be in the mix after a slow start to the season.

Vincenzo Nibali has openly admitted that a winter with many non-cycling commitments have seen him start his season a bit slower than usual. He didn't shine in the Tour de San Luis and the Dubai Tour and he didn't have to big expectations when he arrived at the start of the Tour of Oman.

Today he proved that things are on the rise when he joined Peter Sagan and Rigoberto Uran in an attack on the final descent. The trio managed to keep a hard chase at bay and arrived at the finish together.

Nibali had no chance in the sprint against his faster rivals but today it was not all about the results. Instead, the Italian was just pleased to see that his form is on the rise.

"Peter (Sagan) went for it on the descent and I went after him," he told Cyclingnews at the finish. "I wanted to try and win the stage but I knew it'd be difficult with Sagan there but that didn't discourage me. I rode defensively on the climb, I'm not afraid to admit it because I'm not at 100% of my form yet. But it's good to be up there as I work day after day to improve my form.

"It's always good to test yourself to see how you’re feeling," he added. "It would have been good to win but losing won't change my life. I'm just please to be on generally on track with my training and how I feel in the race. In Argentina, I was quite a bit heavier but I've lost a few kilos. It was a difficult winter for me and I didn't know if I'd even ride here in Oman because my wife is about to give birth to our first child."

Nibali now faces his first big test of the season in tomorrow's queen stage to the top of the Green Mountain. He already knows who to keep an eye on.

"People like Robert Gesink of Belkin and Roman Kreuziger of Tinkoff-Saxo are all riding well," he said. The Team Sky riders all look strong too and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) was up there in front. There's also Purito Rodriguez (Katusha), who won last year."

Nibali is now 3rd on GC, 12 seconds behind new leader Sagan.

You can read our preview of the race here.