Due to exceptional weather conditions, Monday’s stage at the Tour of Oman was adjusted with a 76 kilometre route from Naseem Park to Al Bustan on the menu, with a punchy kicker to finish. It was a steady and controlled stage with a four rider breakaway escaping early on before they were slowly brought back by the bunch. Biding their time, the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL squad saved energy in the peloton before moving forward en masse in the finale. Bringing punchy finisher Tobias Lund Andresen to the fore well in the final three kilometres, the fight for position under the flamme rouge and Lund Andresen had to drop back in the bunch a little bit to not hit the wind early but it meant he was unable to open up his sprint fully, crossing the line in 12th place.
Lund Andresen said: “Today the stage was shortened, so it ended up being a good final for me. The guys protected me well and kept me safe all the way to the last kilometre. In the end I had to drop back a little bit to not take too much wind and ended up never having an opening to sprint properly. Unfortunately, it meant no top result but we are ready to go for it again tomorrow.”