Alexander Kristoff, who picked up three stages last week in Qatar, came out on top in a bunch sprint to Thursday’s Tour of Oman third stage.

The Katusha rider was followed home by Italian duo Andrea Guardini and Matteo Pelucchi at the end of the 158.5km ride around Al Mussanah Sports City.

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“The team is good, our ‘work rhythm’ is working well and that gives me a lot of confidence,” said Kristoff.

Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara retained the lead in the overall standings, 4sec clear of Spain’s Alejandro Valverde and 5sec up on Austria’s Patrick Konrad.

Kristoff added: “Danny Van Poppel (4th) started his sprint a little too early, he had a strong headwind and I was able to overtake him.

“I saw that Guardini was close but I managed to keep him behind me.”

Friday’s fourth stage features a summit finish in Jabar al Akhdhar.