Howard takes stage, Bennati grabs lead at Tour of Oman
- By Charles Pelkey
- Published Feb. 17, 2010
- Updated Feb. 18, 2010 at 12:24 PM UTC
HTC-Columbia’s Leigh Howard won the fourth stage of the Tour of Oman Wednesday, outsprinting Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) who took the overall lead from Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen.
The 20-year-old Australian – the reigning UCI track omnium champion – charged to the front of the field at the end of the Tour’s longest stage, a 187-kilometer race from Ibri to Nakhal. American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) was third.
Boasson Hagen, winner of stage three, missed a key split in the main field as desert winds broke the peloton into echelons. The Norwegian Team Sky rider finished 1:05 behind the day’s winner.
The Tour of Oman has two stages remaining, a relatively flat 148km race from Wattayat to Sultan Qaboos Stadium on Thursday and an 18.6km time trial in Al Jissah on Friday.
FILED UNDER: News / Race Report TAGS: Tour of Oman
Charles Pelkey
Charles Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994 after serving as press secretary for former GOP Whip Alan K. Simpson in the U.S. Senate. Pelkey has worked as a journalist since 1985 and held a number of editorial positions at VeloNews including Senior Editor of VeloNews.com. Pelkey earned a JD from the University of Wyoming College of Law and lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with Diana, his wife of 25 years, and their two children, Philip and Annika, whose presence serves as a constant reminder of what really matters. Pelkey left VeloNews in July, 2011, but continues to be a regular contributor. Charles can now be found at liveupdateguy.com