Scott Sunderland believes Team Sky's performance in Qatar sets them up nicely for the inaugural Tour of Oman.

A win in the opening team time trial and top-six finishes in the final two stages from Edvald Boasson Hagen were the returns from a successful trip to Qatar, albeit one that was marred by the broken collarbone suffered by Kurt-Asle Arvesen at the start of stage two.

The race also provided a useful learning curve for the new outfit, a point underlined by the Senior Sports Director after the final stage.

Sunderland said: "It didn't quite come off like we were hoping for today, with Edvald finishing up in sixth, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

"I think they did a great job, they did everything right, they really took it to the rest of the peloton. They did what needed to be done and we were probably just one man short in the closing 500 metres.

"It's just getting that timing right which is very important with a new team. We just need a little bit more fine tuning and then we'll get it 100% right."

Sunderland also added that the riders themselves have taken plenty out of the race, saying: "Edvald is very happy with where he is at this point of the season, the rest of the guys too. I was talking to Brad [Wiggins] and he's really got a lot out of this week as he works towards his goals and it's the same with the other boys."

Focus switches to Oman

Five of the riders (Boasson Hagen, Juan Antonio Flecha, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas) now make the short journey to Oman where they'll be joined by Mathew Hayman, Chris Sutton and Davide Viganò, all of whom were part of the successful Tour Down Under squad.

"I think that they'll have a very good chance of getting a victory next week at the Tour of Oman," confirmed Sunderland.

"Three guys have already had a week-long race in Australia and they're joined by the boys here from Qatar so it's a good combination.

"It will be a little bit more up and down which means we could get thinned-out fields and that's another dynamic to the race compared to here. It should be exciting and everyone is looking forward to it."