Stage set for Tour of Oman -  The picturesque Muttrah Corniche (near the Fountain plaza) in the heart of Muscat will wear a festive look on February 14. On this day the Tour of Oman will be officially launched and world’s top 128 cyclists will grace the roads on the length and breadth of Oman.

The major highlight of the Tour is the participation of Tour de France champion Mark Cavendish of HTC Columbia. Apart from Cavendish, the confirmed participants in the Tour of Oman include, but are not limited to some of the top names in competitive cycling including Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) as well as Daniele Bennati (Liquigas-Doimo), Gerald Ciolek (Milram), Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank), Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) and Jimmy Casper (Saur-Sojasun).

Announcing details at a press conference held at Bait Al Baranda yesterday, Saif bin Suba’a Al Rashidi, director-general of information at Muscat Municipality said the inauguration ceremony would be held under the auspices of Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, minister of Diwan of Royal Court. The media briefing was also attended by officials of Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Tourism, Oman Air and the Tour de France organisers.

Route map

The conference was held to give details of the routes map and create awareness in advance of road closures. Stressing that the Tour will inspire the younger generation, Saif bin Suba’a Al Rashidi said: “We want Muscat Municipality to set a tradition and hold this kind of races on an annual basis. We are determined to make Oman a destination for this kind of sports. Our objective is to promote Oman as an important tourist destination and also encourage people of the Sultanate to participate in the future.”

The organisers have created six stages for the Tour of Oman and each stage has been designed to allow the public to watch the cyclists.

Saif bin Suba’a Al Rashidi said: “We encourage everyone to show their support by coming to watch the start of the first stage on Sunday evening on the seafront of the Muttrah Corniche.”

Many government departments including Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Regional Municipalities, ROP, Royal Armyof Oman, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Interiors will be partners in the event. “Each of these ministries and departments have their role cut out,” Saif bin Suba’a Al Rashidi said. For example the ROP will provide security and also have flying medical teams to ensure safety of the participants, Ministry of Tourism will promote logistics and financial support to organising committee, Ministry of Regional Municipality will handle the race tracks, Ministry of Interiors will involve the wilayats where all the walis along with people will attend and receive the teams at the finish points, Ministry of Health will involve all its hospitals in case of emergencies, Ministry of Education will involve the students and scouts also will be helping Royal Oman Police.

Speaking of Oman Air’s role Mohammed Al Shikely, Oman Air’s senior manager marketing said: “The role of Oman Air is to promote it aggressively in Europe. We have a campaign at the moment running which is called Bike Oman which we are running in Germany and UK. We are flying from all these places — Munich, Paris and London. We have also introduced special fares to encourage people to come for this event. We have introduced extra baggage allowance for participants who may carry extra weight. Besides, when the participants and guests arrive we have ensured smooth handing at points of departure as well as arrival in Oman. It is a joint effort to position Oman as a destination capable of having any such events and as an ideal destination for all types of tourism.”

The Tour of Qatar is now on (February 7-12) where the sixteen teams are currently competing before they arrive in the Sultanate late on Friday night. The six-day event is scheduled to begin two days after the Tour of Qatar. 16 of the 20 teams participating in the Tour de France will also participate in the Tour of Oman 2010. But unlike Qatar, the Tour of Oman will cover different types of terrain and will test the abilities and stamina of the participants to the maximum. The Tour of Oman is part of the ongoing attempt to globalise cycling and will cover Muscat, Al Batinah region, Al Dhakaliya region and Al Dahirah region.

Hundreds and thousands of spectators are likely to witness the Tour which will cover a total of 687km across the country. This event is presented by Muscat Municipality and will be run by the Tour de France owner Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) as well as PauMer International SA.

Meanwhile, Sultan bin Hamdoon Al Harthi had earlier said: “The Tour of Oman is our humble tribute to the vision and wisdom of His Majesty Sultan bin Qaboos in the 40th year of the Blessed Renaissance. This event will henceforth be held every year and the legendry cyclist Eddy Merckx will be the race organiser. We are sure the Tour of Oman will be a historic event that will soon become a major international sporting