Team Sky will have 2012 Tour De France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome in their team for the Tour Of Oman which starts today.
Eighteen teams will compete in the fourth UCI Tour race to be held in Oman . Twelve pro teams will feature with five pro continental teams and the Federation Of Japan who are also sending a team.
The six-stage race which finishes on Saturday covers a total distance of 938.5kms, and starts with a 162km opening stage from Al Musannah at mid-day local time and finishes at Sultan Qaboos University.
Omega Pharma Quick Steps rider Peter Velits is the defending champion at Tour of Oman, and admitted to his team's website that the opportunity to defend his title was special.
Velits said: "Last year this race gave me the first victory as a professional in a stage race. "It's a moment I will never forget. As for this year, it will be similar to last year's parcour. The uphill finishing stage will be more or less the same and the fight for the win will be that day."
Velits will be riding with Tom Boonen in his first race of the season, rather than Mark Cavendish who has been rested after his triumphs in last week's Tour Of Qatar where he not only won four stages but won the overall General Classification.
Along with Wiggins, the strong field sees the likes of Cadel Evans, Joaquim Rodriguez, Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador all fancied to win.