Today the route of the Tour of Oman fifth edition was announced by its organizers, Amaury Sport Organization, and 18 teams will participate in the event.

Differently than sprinter-friendly Tour of Qatar, the race held in Oman will contain three sprint stages – one more comparing to last season’s parcours, two medium mountain stages and one summit finish on a penultimate day, which is expected to be decisive in the context of the final overall standings.

The route of the queen stage covers a distance of 147,5km and will take the peloton from Bidbid to the summit finish of Jabal al Akhdhar (Green Mountain), which will be tackled by riders participating in the Tour of Oman for the fourth consecutive time. Even though the stage is expected to play a crucial role in deciding the winner of the general classification, it didn’t happen last year, when victorious Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) couldn’t take the final glory away from Christopher Froome, who wore the red jersey on the last day.

It was also the last occasion to see Froome and Wiggins riding arm by arm under the Team Sky banner, while the duo is rumored to rejoin forces in order to provide the British squad with third consecutive Tour the France title this year.

13 World Tour teams will participate in 2014 Tour of Oman edition, as Giant-Shimano is the only major squad missing the event, and will be joined by five Pro Continental teams: Bardiani CSF, IAM Cycling, NetApp-Endura, Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team.

Belkin and Lotto-Belisol will return to the event after they missed it out last year.

The six stages on the menu of the 2014 Tour of Oman will take the 144-strong field through 915.5 kilometres of varied terrain against a backdrop of stunning landscapes between sea and mountains. There will be something for everyone between the flat, windswept roads along the coast of the Gulf of Oman and the rugged terrain further inland. Stage 5 will culminate in a summit finish atop the Jebel Akhdar, a 5.8 km climb with an average gradient of 10.3%. The "Green Mountain" will be the highlight of the race for the fourth year running, and whoever pulls on the red leader's jersey at the end of the stage will, in all probability, not be far from the overall victory on Matrah Corniche the following day.

The 18 participating teams
- Ag2r La Mondiale (FRA)
- Astana Pro Team (KAZ)
- Bardiani CSF (ITA)
- Belkin – Pro Cycling Team (NED)
- BMC Racing Team (USA)
- Cannondale Pro Cycling (ITA)
- FDJ.fr (FRA)
- IAM Cycling (SUI)
- Katusha Team (RUS)
- Lotto Belisol (BEL)
- Omega Pharma – Quick Step Cycling Team (BEL)
- Orica-GreenEDGE (AUS)
- Team NetApp – Endura (GER)
- Team Sky (GBR)
- Tinkoff Saxo (DEN)
- Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise (BEL)
- Trek Factory Racing (USA)
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA)

Stages
- Stage 1, Tuesday, February 18: As Suwayq Castle – Naseem Garden (164.5 km)
- Stage 2, Wednesday, February 19: Al Bustan – Qurayyat (139 km)
- Stage 3, Thursday, February 20: Bank Muscat – Al Bustan (145 km)
- Stage 4, Friday, February 21: Wadi Al Abiyad – Ministry of Housing (173 km)
- Stage 5, Saturday, February 22: Bidbid – Jebel Akhdar / Green Mountain (147.5 km)
- Stage 6, Sunday, February 23: As Sifah – Matrah Corniche (146.5 km)