Coquard comes close in Tour of Oman opener

Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels) came close to taking his second win in as many stage races in 2019, surging past Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) but unable to squeeze ahead of Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) on the opening stage of the Tour of Oman.

The Frenchman, who endured a difficult first campaign with Vital Concept in 2018 following his acrimonious split from Direct Energie, had already won on the opening day of the Etoile de Bessèges.

The finishing stretch on the Suhar Corniche ran arrow-straight for 1,300 metres, but a technical section just before that saw Coquard have to fight back and perhaps sap his legs for the final sprint.

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"There were riders who mis-stepped in front of me and Kris Boeckmans with two kilometres to go, at the start of the series of bends, so we lost some places. We tried to come back but maybe it was a bit late," Coquard said at the finish.

"I was very far back ahead of the final kilometre. Kris did a really good job of getting me back up the front. I was in and around the first positions with 300 metres to go and I was able to get on the wheel of Nacer, but unfortunately not that of Alexander Kristoff, and I was only able to get second."

Coquard explained that it can be hard to adjust to the style of racing in the Middle East. The Tour of Oman is the one that has the fewest pan-flat highway stages, but that's exactly what was served up on Friday's run down the coast.

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