After his two stage wins at the Tour of Qatar, Tom Boonen won the fifth stage in the Tour of Oman today. Boonen won the stage in a bunch sprint after some hard work of his team mates. The riders of Wilfried Peeters started the chase at 3 early escapees, with 25 kilometres to go the pack reeled them in. Team Quick Step stayed in the front for the remaining kilometres, preparing the bunch sprint together with Liquigas, Team Sky and Saxo Bank.

The final 3 kilometres were not easy with some roundabouts, but the team did well. Kevin Hulsmans and Marco Velo did a perfect lead out for Boonen, who finished the job in front of Haedo and Van Staeyen. Boonen moved up to a 2nd place in the overall ranking, only 2 seconds behind leader Bennati. Tomorrow the Tour of Oman ends with a time trial over 18,6 kilometres.

“It wasn’t an easy sprint – explains Tom Boonen – I was only able to pass Haedo in the last 30-40 meters. I want to share this victory with all the guys on the team. This morning I asked my team mates to race and work together, and every one of them, especially in the final, performed his job perfectly. Our fitness is in a crescendo and I’m very happy with the way I’ve been feeling and the work we’ve done these last few days. Tomorrow the race will wrap up with a time trial. During the winter I’ve been training specifically for the time trial, but tomorrow won’t be your average time trial; we’ll all be riding normal bikes and the route is quite challenging. I’ll be riding without any pressure because I’m starting with no ambitions to classify.”

Result stage 5
1. Tom Boonen (Bel)
2. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg)
3. Michael van Staeyen (Bel)

Overall after stage 5
1. Daniele Bennati (Ita)
2. Tom Boonen (Bel) 0.02
3. Tyler Farrar (VS) 0.06

File Photo by: CorVos Pro