Tour de Oman

This Sunday sees the first leg of the first ever Tour of Oman. On the official website (which is actually surprisingly good for a local website), you can learn the routes, dates, and who will be riding their bikes. There's going to a surprisingly large amount of them - 128 competitors, albeit in teams.

Interestingly, 16 of the 20 teams entered into the Tour de France are competing here in Oman. Perhaps a spot of pre-season training? Or is it mid-season? Is there even a season required for competitive bike racing?

I can think of things I'd prefer to be doing on Valentines day (Sunday the 14th February), but if watching people riding bikes is romantic for you, be sure to check out the Muttrah Cornich on Sunday at 6pm. The cynical side of me wonders how many spectators will gather just to hope to see a crash? :)

Here is a summary, with maps(!) of the 6 legs of the tour of Oman:

Day 1, Stage 1: Sunday, 14 February 2010 - 1800hrs start
Distance: 60.8 km in 16 turns around the circuit from Riyam Roundabout to the Fish Roundabout


Day 2, Stage 2: Monday, 15 February 2010 – 1300hrs start
Distance: 148.5 km from Nizwa to Izki, Samail, Bidbid, and back to Samail


Day 3, Stage 3: Tuesday, 16 February 2010 – 1300hrs start
Distance: 125 km Sifat Ak Sheikh to Quriyat


Day 4, Stage 4: Wednesday, 17 February 2010 – 1150hrs start
Distance: 187 km from Ibri to A’Rustaq , Al Awabi, and Nakhal


Day 5, Stage 5: Thursday, 18 February 2010 – 1315hrs start
Distance: 148 km from Wattayah to Shatti Al Qurum, A’Seeb, Barka, Al Khoudh, Ghala, and Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex


Day 6, Stage 6: Friday, 19 February 2010 - 1400hrs start
Distance: 18.5 km from Barr Al Jissa to the to the Fish Roundabout through the Marine Road


Now that you are aware of where the routes will take the racers.... be sure to not get stuck in the inevitable traffic jams that will arise as a result :)

Recently I received an email with a bunch of motivational posters, your usual email nonsense, but this one did produce a smile from me, and I felt the need to share it with you all:


Lets hope nothing like that happens next week....

le fin.