The punchy stages on offer at the Tour of Oman are well suited to Nathan Haas, who was victorious in Al Bustan 12 months ago, but this time around he has all-but ruled out any hope of a repeat after a chest infection derailed his start to the season. The Katusha-Alpecin rider started the year strongly - `flying` as he puts it - with fourth place in the time trial at the Australian national championships, where he surpassed even his own expectations. However, illness struck during the Tour Down Under and he ended the race - a perennial target - fifth last and out of sorts. `Bike riding`s a pretty fickle game. The difference between being at 100 per cent and being unwell is not very much; it`s a knife edge,` Haas told Cyclingnews in Oman on Friday.ADVERTISEMENT `Someone once told me that elite athletes, when they`re really in form, have the immune system of someone in the emergency ward in hospital.` Haas decided to skip Race Melbourne and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, but the sickness lingered and he was soon prescribed antibiotics, followed by a lengthy spell off the bike. `The team decided from a performance perspective to give me a bit of time off the bike and do a proper re-set so I don`t bring any poor health into the most important races, which for me are the Classics. That was just a clever decision from the team to back it off and look at it from a global perspective. We want a long season and not to chase short highs,` Haas said. Blessing in disguise
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