Oman to launch version of Tour de France

Oman has revealed it is to join the ranks of France, Italy, India and Japan with the launch of its first national cycling tour next month.

The race, the Arab sultanate’s answer to the Tour de France, will see 128 riders on 16 teams cover 687km over a period of six days.

The race will take in Oman’s famed mountain ranges, potentially including the country’s highest peak, Jebel Akhdar, which stands nearly 3,000m high.

The tour will take place on February 14 through to February 19, and will award $161,880 in prize money. The winner will take €9,200, or $13,227.

“A magnificent new destination,” Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, told the New York Times.

France’s famous cycling race is owned by Amaury Sport Organisation, which will also handle the logistics of the Tour of Oman.

“The Middle East has proved to be the ideal terrain for the start of the cycling season, its climate and geography being ideal for the competitors’ requirements at this time of year,” said Prudhomme.

Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi, the head of the Muscat Municipality and the Municipal Council, told the newspaper the Tour is expected to bolster Oman’s tourism ambitions. “Everyone in Oman is excited and supportive,” he said. “We have a young population and the Tour will inspire them.”

Oman is the second Gulf country to host an international cycling tour, after Qatar’s inaugural race nine years ago. Qatar’s race is scheduled from February 7 to 12, or two days before the start in Oman.

According to the International Cycling Union, the sport’s world governing body, Oman is the fifth Middle Eastern country to feature on its annual event calendar, following in the footsteps of Egypt, Libya and Morocco.