The Tour of Oman was my very first tour victory with start number 1. Thanks to the two races in Qatar and Oman, I have been able to do lots of competitive cycling in very hot temperatures. Nevertheless, I am still a long way off being where I want to be.

The Tour of Oman may have been successful for me, but it was also hectic. Sometimes we'd be on the go for 13 hours at a time, we'd have to fly to the start of the stage on the morning of the race and drive to our hotel by car in the evening in a journey lasting over an hour.

The discrepancy between the hotels where we stayed and the lives of the locals was enormous. We stayed in hotels that I would stay in while on holiday with my family.

For part of the time, we even stayed in five-star-plus hotels. In contrast, we travelled through the desert and saw people by the side of the road who had probably never seen a bike before, let alone a bidon.

Perhaps it was because of this that they were so quick to show their enthusiasm. The photographers, too, were enthusiastic.

Some of the very special images that they took can be seen in the current gallery. After the race however, I was glad to be able to fly back home finally and spend a few days with my family.

Fabian.