The Oman Tour seems to be the first of 2013 that will showcase cycling's racing royalty with three of the last Tours de France winners in attendance. The tour, which runs from February 12 to 16, will supposedly highlight the performance of Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, and Bradley Wiggins.
The thoughts of Team Sky supporters, however, remains to be the duel between team mates Wiggins and Chris Froome.
The Oman Tour seems to be the first of 2013 that will showcase cycling's racing royalty with three of the last Tours de France winners in attendance. The tour, which runs from February 12 to 16, will supposedly highlight the performance of Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, and Bradley Wiggins.
The thoughts of Team Sky supporters, however, remains to be the duel between team mates Wiggins and Chris Froome.
This is the only race before the main event this summer that will allow the two riders to cross paths and the first time since the premier event in 2012 that the pair have challenged each other on a stage race together. This has sparked a debate over who will take over the lead role in the tour.
Sir Dave Brailsford, Team Sky's principal, is keen on down playing the sense of division stating, "You'd have thought [from all the speculation] that they'd never raced together before. To be fair, they've run second and third in the Vuelta [the Tour of Spain, in 2011] and first and second in the Tour so they'd done quite a bit – and very successfully, they might add. The reality is they've raced together a lot and they're in the same team, so that's that."
In addition, he said, "They're the obvious two general classification candidates, but we'll play that one out."
The reports that Froome will lead the team in the Tour of Oman with Wiggins in support started after the latter quit during the last stage of the Tour of Mallorca. Brailsford issued a statement regarding Wiggins' condition saying that the rider's winter training had left him with a lot in the tank, hence not seeing the point in continuing.
Froome also commented on the issue saying, "I'm not in top shape yet. I haven't really seen the terrain yet, but training's been going really well, so I'm feeling good, and we'll see how it goes."
"We'll see what happens when we get to the mountains. This is a nice place to start the season. Everyone's excited about the event; it's not your typical race and has a more relaxed atmosphere. But everybody's here and it's a high-ranking event all the same," he added.
While the Tour of Oman will serve little more than a footnote in the entire cycling season, it offers the perfect opportunity for riders to train and race in warm weather conditions and challenging roads. The undulating terrain, mountain ranges, and winding flat valleys is also the best place for rivals to make a mark in preparation of the tour.
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