Peter Velits of Omega Pharma Quick Step, who held a one-second advantage this morning over Liquigas-Cannondale’s Vincenzo Nibali, has won the Tour of Oman on a day when the final stage went down to the predicted sprint finish, taken by Project 1T4i’s Marcel Kittel, his second stage victory of the race.

Team Sky had worked hard to chase down a three-man breakaway comprising Johan Van Summeren and Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Barracuda plus Rabobank’s Laurens Ten Dam on the closing circuit in Muscat as they sought to set up world champion Mark Cavendish for what would have been his only victory of what has been a frustrating week.

On the final lap, however, Project 1T4i, formerly Skil-Shimano, took control at the front of the peloton to set up their 23-year-old German sprinter, who burst onto the scene in 2011, ending the year with his maiden Grand Tour stage win in the Vuelta.

After clinching his overall victory, the 26-year-old Slovak Velits, quoted on his team's website, said: "It's a great day, one of the best in my career."

"During the race there was only a moment of panic when Nibali seemed to have gotten second place behind Boonen during the intermediate sprint.

"Luckily it was just a mistake in transcribing numbers from radio infos and the momentary fear quickly dissipated.

"The team controlled the race perfectly, easily taking me to the finish line.

"It's my first win in a stage race, I am very happy. It's a great beginning to the season, even though I'm aware the big races are still to come.

"What's most important, though, is my state of form.

"Compared to the past, I have changed my approach to the season and I can see the results.

"It will be important to go on like this and keep growing race after race. Our next race appointment will be the Tirreno-Adriatico, a very important race in which I wish to do well.

"I will train on my Specialized TTbike, too, in the next few days, in order to prepare for the two time-trial stages at the Tirreno.

"Tonight, though, I just want to celebrate this win with the whole team, to whom I dedicate this success.

"I wouldn't have been able to win without their help," added the former HTC-Highroad rider.

Tour of Oman Stage 6  

1  KITTEL Marcel          PROJECT 1T4I                3h 11' 04"
2  SAGAN Peter            LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE      All at same time
3  FARRAR Tyler           GARMIN - BARRACUDA
4  GALIMZYANOV Denis      KATUSHA TEAM
5  BOUHANNI Nacer         FDJ-BIGMAT
6  OSS Daniel             LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE
7  KRISTOFF Alexander     KATUSHA TEAM
8  BOONEN Tom             OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
9  GUARDINI Andrea        FARNESE VINI-SELLE ITALIA
10 GUSEV Vladimir         KATUSHA TEAM
11 SIEBERG Marcel         LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM
12 SELIG Rüdiger          KATUSHA TEAM
13 GALLOPIN Tony          RADIOSHACK-NISSAN
14 CAVENDISH Mark         SKY PROCYCLING
15 HAYMAN Mathew          SKY PROCYCLING
16 JEANNESSON Arnold      FDJ-BIGMAT
17 DAVIS Allan            GREENEDGE CYCLING TEAM
18 VAN WINDEN Dennis      RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM
19 FRIEDEMANN Matthias    CHAMPION SYSTEM
20 HUNTER Robert          GARMIN - BARRACUDA

Tour of Oman Overall Result  

1  VELITS Peter           OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP     21h 32' 02"
2  NIBALI Vincenzo        LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE           + 00' 01"
3  GALLOPIN Tony          RADIOSHACK-NISSAN             + 00' 17"
4  CASAR Sandy            FDJ-BIGMAT                    + 00' 21"
5  JEANNESSON Arnold      FDJ-BIGMAT                    + 00' 30"
6  SLAGTER Tom            RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM         + 00' 30"
7  RODRIGUEZ Joaquin      KATUSHA TEAM                  + 00' 47"
8  NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas   GARMIN - BARRACUDA            + 00' 49"
9  LEBAS Thomas           BRIDGESTONE ANCHOR            + 00' 50"
10 CANCELLARA Fabian      RADIOSHACK-NISSAN             + 00' 52"