(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- The ninth edition of the Tour of Oman will see 18 teams from 12 countries. Last year's winner, Belgian Ben Hermans (BMC Racing Team), however, is yet to confirm his participation as he is in the negotiation stages of his contract.

Habib al Zawawi, media coordinator, Tour of Oman, Muscat Municipality explained, 'The dates were confirmed earlier this week. The Tour of Oman will take place from February 13-18 in 2018. Apart from being a major international sporting event, we also see it as an opportunity to showcase the sultanate to an international audience. We're currently working on finalising the route.'

While there is no shortage of fantastic roads and scenery in Oman, logistics have to be taken into account. 'The Tour of Oman is a major international event which brings hundreds of people into the country.

Outside Muscat, rooms for the tour group can be hard to find, but we're constantly monitoring the situation and making note of new hotels which are coming up. Including Salalah in future tours is a possibility although, the long, flat stretches separating Dhofar from the North of Oman are not challenging enough for riders,' Zawawi added.

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