After the traditional Muscat Classic won by Mauro Schmid, the Tour of Oman officially kicks off today, which will take us to discover the state of the Arabian Peninsula from February 7th to 11th. 5 stages and a total of 855 km for a race that over the years has managed to carve out an important place in the first part of the calendar. Since 2010, the year of its foundation, the competition has hosted many champions and represents an excellent early season test, as well as an opportunity to collect important UCI points.

This year, 11 world tour teams, compared to 9 in the previous edition, will be at the start of the Tour of Oman, accompanied by 6 Professional teams and the Omani National Selection. More and more high-level teams are attracted to this early season stage race to search for points and fine-tune their legs ahead of the first major European appointments. Now in its 15th edition, the Tour of Oman has always garnered the interest of great champions, starting with Fabian Cancellara, the first overall winner. The honor roll includes names of Grand Tour winners, with Chris Froome making his mark in 2013, preceding two champions like Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans. The white Kenyan also won the following year and currently leads the list of most victories together with Aleksej Lucenko (2018-2019) and Adam Yates (2024-2025), all stopped at two victories. The defending champion is precisely the big favorite of this edition and with his second place yesterday at the Muscat Classic, he has demonstrated excellent form. The only Italian to triumph in the general classification was Vincenzo Nibali in 2016, who had already finished second in 2012; among the Italian results, we remember the third places of Giovanni Visconti in 2011 and Fabio Aru in 2017, and the second places of Domenico Pozzovivo in 2019 and Fausto Masnada in 2022.

The 2026 edition of the Tour of Oman is in the spirit of tradition, but does not lack some novelties. The 5 days of racing offer ideal routes for sprinters and also for attackers who could seize the opportunity to surprise the peloton. There are no major difficulties, but nervous days and especially the first heat of the season could reserve unexpected pitfalls. The classification will remain open until the end with the uphill finish at the famous Green Mountain.

The inaugural stage is almost identical to last year's, with the start set near the Ministry of Tourism in Muscat, then the group will pedal for 171 km to arrive at the picturesque tourist site of Sink Hole. The only difficulty is the renowned Jabel Road climb (3.5 km at 9.2%) already tackled yesterday in the Muscat Classic, but which should not worry the fast wheels given the completely flat finale; last year Olav Kooij celebrated and it seems this is again the right day for sprinters. The second stage from Rustaq Fort to Yitti Hills is practically identical to the 2025 edition: a total of 4 mountain passes will be faced, but beware of the final climb that could offer some surprises. It's 1.6 km with an average of 6.8%, a not particularly prohibitive climb, but those aiming for the overall victory cannot be caught unprepared. The first true uphill finish is scheduled for the third day of racing, the Samail "Al Fayhaa Restlouse" – Eastern Mountain, which in the second part perfectly retraces the stage seen last year with David Gaudu's victory; in the finale, a climb of 3.4 km with an average of 8% will be tackled. Last opportunity for sprinters with the Al Sawadi Beach – Sohar, an unprecedented stage that will climb along the Omani coast, with no particular difficulties but attention to breakaway attempts. The grand finale is reserved for the now traditional Green Mountain finish, the symbolic climb of Oman that with its 5.7 km at 10.4% will be called upon to definitively define the general classification and decree the great winner of the Omani race.

Below is the complete list of stages:

1st stage (07/02): Ministry of Tourism > Bimmah Sink Hole (171 km)

2nd stage (08/02): Al Rustaq Fort > Yitti Hills (191.5 km)

3rd stage (09/02): Samail "Al Fayhaa Resthouse" > Eastern Mountain (191 km)

4th stage (10/02): Al Sawadi Beach > Sohar (146 km)

5th stage (11/02): Nizwa > Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) (156 km)