Tour of Oman

The object of most interest at the Tour of Oman, the rider everyone will be watching out for, is Mark Cavendish, newly of Astana-Qazaqstan, for whom 2023 offers one final shot at glory.

- Adam Becket, James Shrubsall

Oman 11-15 February

It will be an opportunity for the world to get used to him on a Wilier Triestina bike, and for him to understand his team-mates whom he has barely met, let alone raced with before. Most of those at Oman will be Kazakhs, used to the way of Astana but not to the way of Cavendish.

One Astana rider who is key to Cavendish's year, chosen to be his leadout man, is Cees Bol. The tall Dutchman joined from DSM at the same time as the British champion, but will be absent in Oman – the pair will link up at the UAE Tour.

“We had a training camp in the last few weeks, but aside from that I’ve only met him a few times, apart from racing against him, of course,” Bol explained. “It has been good to see in the training camp how motivating he is for the whole team, and how he’s working like a professional. We still have to get to know each other a bit more, but we have time for that.”

As for how well Astana will do at shepherding a sprinter to the line, that remains an unknown; at the Saudi Tour with Bol, they did reasonably well, with two podium places.

“It’s something new [sprinting] for the team, but that’s why it’s super-good that Cav brings 17 years of experience in pro cycling and winning bunch sprints,” Bol said. “It’s about giving his experience to other riders.

"It's not completely new, but this is the first race where we will really try to work with the train."

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THE ROUTE