(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy will headline the 2015 Tour of Oman which takes place from February 17-22.
However Chris Froome of the UK will not be back to defend his 2014 title as he has opted to ride the Vuelta a Andalucia in Spain during that time as part of preparations for the 2015 Tour de France.
The Vuelta a Andalucia also known as the Ruta del Sol will be held from February 18-22 taking place simultaneously alongside the sixth edition of the Tour of Oman. In his bid for a second Tour de France crown Froome has chosen to race the Ruta del Sol - despite not having enough trial miles under his belt - scotching rumours that he was eyeing the Giro d'Italia.
The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) which organises the Tour of Oman announced over the weekend that Nibali who in 2012 won the toughest stage to the summit of Jebel Akhdar has confirmed his entry.
After announcing Nibali as its headline rider the ASO said 'The Tour of Oman holds a special place in Nibali's cycling memories. He ended a 17-month drought following his first overall victory in a Grand Tour [at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana] when he claimed stage five to Jebel Akhdar and carried on to have successful campaigns over the past three years at the Giro d'Italia and then the Tour de France.'
Nibali finished overall second in the 2012 race and subsequently returned in 2013 and 2014. He finished seventh and 12th respectively but built on those performances to win the Giro in 2013 and the Tour de France this year.
Nibali however is awaiting a decision from the UCI the world cycling body which is expected to give a ruling on whether the Italian cyclist's Astana team should be given a World Tour (WT) licence for 2015 which is required for participating in WT events. Although Oman is not a WT event Nibali's race schedule for 2015 is in question as the UCI will re-evaluate the Kazakhstan-based team's licence for next year following doping accusations against a couple of Astana riders.
If Astana does not get a World Tour license Nibali won't get to defend his Tour de France title and would be relegated to spend 2015 racing in lower-tier events on the UCI's continental circuit. The decision is expected early next week.
Also confirmed for the Tour of Oman is Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez who is a past winner on the Jebel Akhdar climb.
Giro d'Italia runner up Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-QuickStep) will be there as will young climbers Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Nibali's teammate Fabio Aru. The latter two were the best young riders in this year's Tour de France and Giro d'Italia respectively.
Former world champion Philippe Gilbert and his BMC Racing teammate Tejay van Garderen will also be in Oman with Garderen using the event as a build-up for the Tour de France after his fifth-place finish in France this year.
Other former rainbow jerseys who have confirmed their participation for the Oman event are Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) and Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) along with multiple world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing).
Peter Sagan will also compete with his new Tinkoff Saxo squad as will other Classic contenders such as Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN Qhubeka) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) plus world hour record holder Matthias Brandle (IAM Cycling).
Niki Tersptra (Etixx-Quick Step) and French climber Warren Barguil (Alpecin-Giant) are also set to arrive in Muscat ahead of February 17 start.
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