It may have been completely unexpected six weeks ago, but Ryan Gibbons` career is undergoing something of a sudden shift in direction in the first weeks of the 2019 season. After an eye-catching Tour Down Under, the Dimension Data rider`s third-place finish on stage 2 of the Tour of Oman added to the growing belief that he`s more of a puncheur than a sprinter. The late climb of Al Jissah - 1.4km at nine per cent - took out two thirds of the Oman peloton on Sunday, including every sprinter, but Gibbons survived, and went on to produce an impressive effort in the uphill final 100 metres. The South African was pipped to the line by stage 1 winner Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) - who`d clawed his way back on the descent - in the group sprint behind solo winner Alexey Lutsenko (Astana).ADVERTISEMENT `Maybe that`s become more my specialty than the plain sprints,` Gibbons noted back at the buses in Al Bustan. The result comes off the back of 11th overall at the Tour Down Under, where he beat climbers like George Bennett and Domenico Pozzovivo to the top of Willunga Hill, and fourth at the Cadel Evans race. The secret to the 24-year-old`s run of form? `I actually put on weight and I did less training,` he said with a chuckle. His winter plan, he explained, had been to become a more powerful sprinter. As a result, somehow, he is a better climber.
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