Moreno Hofland was unable to survive the two tough climbs in the final the Tour of Oman stage one today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter fell behind quickly on the final uphill and lost his chance at a good result. Instead, Bob Jungles (Etixx-Quick Step) won the day.

The difficult final of the first stage did not stop Team LottoNL-Jumbo from making plans for its punchy sprinter Moreno Hofland. “It was our target to survive those two climbs with Moreno,” sports director Jan Boven. “If the pace dropped at the top of the first climb, we could have had a chance at that, but it didn’t happen unfortunately. Afterwards, Moreno exploded on the second climb.”

With Moreno out, Team LottoNL-Jumbo was not represented in the first group. Mike Teunissen and George Bennett finished 40 seconds behind Jungels. “Mike Teunissen and Moreno were together when Moreno was dropped,” Boven added. “Mike was allowed to go for his own chances afterwards. George has a free role in this stage race anyway, so he was already allowed to go his own way. Mike delivered a strong performance, which wasn’t a surprise because we know that he can do great things.”

‘Working on it’

 “I’m quite fast, but not a real bunch sprinter,” Teunissen explained. “That means that I have to aim for races like today’s. It was a tough race, but I want to deliver in races like this. I was together with George just behind the first group today and we were trying to get back in the front. We failed, unfortunately, but I am working on these types of finishes.”

The second stage of the Tour of Oman clearly will not suit Moreno Hofland. “We’ll finish tomorrow’s race with a tough final climb,” Boven said. “We haven’t raced that uphill before in the Tour of Oman. It’s definitely too hard for Moreno and probably too explosive for George, as well, but he must try to follow as long as possible.”