Tour of Oman from 2011

afx237vi
afx237vi Posts: 12,630
edited November 2009 in Pro race
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2203/ ... Qatar.aspx

Organised by Eddy Merckx. Let's hope it's as exciting as the Tour of Qatar, eh?

Comments

  • Art Vandelay
    Art Vandelay Posts: 1,982
    Oman, oh dear.
  • shinyhelmut
    shinyhelmut Posts: 1,364
    At least Oman has hills!
  • Art Vandelay
    Art Vandelay Posts: 1,982
    There's also the http://www.muscatcyclingclub.com/. There's at least 16 of them in the picture so if they'll all turn out on the road to support the race that'll be 4x as many that the Tour of Qatar got.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Hopefully this race wont be as bad as the Oman Oil futures...

    Gilbert will be racing as Merckx personally asked him.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • greeny12
    greeny12 Posts: 759
    As anybody who has been there will tell you, Oman is NOTHING like the bare strips of flat desert that characterise places like Qatar and Dubai. It is in fact one of the geological wonders of the world and, as someone else has pointed out, it has a bloody great mountain range in its north, while Salalah in the south is verdant and extremely pleasant in the 'winter' months.

    Would make for a much more interesting event than the ToQ if Merckx takes advantage of all this by planning a proper route.
    My cycle racing blog: http://cyclingapprentice.wordpress.com/

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  • shinyhelmut
    shinyhelmut Posts: 1,364
    Where the discerning journalists will be following the race from;

    oman05chedialbustan.jpg

    The Al Bustan Palace hotel. You can see the boring, dead flat topography of the country in the background :lol:
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Are there any roads that go up the 'mountains'?!
    Contador is the Greatest
  • shinyhelmut
    shinyhelmut Posts: 1,364
    To be honest I haven't a clue. They do go up to 10000ft or thereabouts. I've flown in and out of Muscat loads of times but never had the opportunity to venture inland.
  • greeny12
    greeny12 Posts: 759
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Are there any roads that go up the 'mountains'?!

    From Wiki:

    For visitors there is a road into the mountains from the town of Birkat al-Mawz (on the road to Nizwa from Muscat) and a walking route through Wadi al-Muaydin to the Saiq Plateau.

    The mountains are about a two hour drive from Nizwa, a town which would almost certainly be a stop-off point for any Tour of Oman.

    Another point to note:

    The mountains are an important ecoregion, the only habitat in eastern Arabia above 2,000m elevation. The climate is cool and wet from December to March
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  • Larpy
    Larpy Posts: 1
    I live in Oman and I am one of the people in the photo from the link above. And I can tell you there are some serious hills. Jebal akdar is a bit of a monster and I would say is as tough as the gilibia with 2000m of climbing and hits about 18%+.

    I can't see the race happening though, even though it would be great for cycling and for tourism.
  • greeny12
    greeny12 Posts: 759
    Larpy wrote:
    I live in Oman and I am one of the people in the photo from the link above. And I can tell you there are some serious hills. Jebal akdar is a bit of a monster and I would say is as tough as the gilibia with 2000m of climbing and hits about 18%+.

    I can't see the race happening though, even though it would be great for cycling and for tourism.

    Well, according to Cyclingnews it is on:

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/milram- ... an-in-2010

    And just around the time I should be there myself, if my regular contract with PDO comes off again next year. Fingers crossed...
    My cycle racing blog: http://cyclingapprentice.wordpress.com/

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  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Great stuff - it should provide more entertainment then Qatar.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Tuesdays at the Al Bustan Palace used to be curry nights and a top gig it was too. When I was there is was the '6th best hotel in the world' or summat. Expect the race will be a bit more than a roll and up down the corniche before a sprint, like Qatar - there's some seriously hilly stuff - but when go a few miles inland from the coastal strip it's mainly 'mamfa'















    Mamfa - miles & miles of F*-all
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • de_sisti
    de_sisti Posts: 1,283
    If you're working out there and have some time on your hands to ride a bike, be cafeful
    though, as I didn't think it was too bike friendly,(having being knock off at a roundabout).
    There are lots of asian workers from India who ride heavy steal bikes out there (can't
    remember the make). Turn up at the French Embassy on a Friday morning for some good
    fast(ish) rides with some of the Shell workers, diplos and others (like me, when I was
    out there for 3 months in 2003).
  • the golden fun hoover
    the golden fun hoover Posts: 1
    What a fantastic prospect.

    You could have some seriously good stages in Oman if you did your research.

    Muscat to Jebel Al Akdhar springs to mind.

    Wouldnt fancy being on the organising committee though and it's not being publicised at all here so I think it will be same 4 spectators from Qatar attending if the race happens.

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