Chris Sutton believes teamwork was key to Edvald Boasson Hagen taking over the leader's jersey on stage two of the Tour of Oman.

Team Sky's eight-man squad worked tirelessly as the race reached a gripping climax in Samail - with Sutton leading out Boasson Hagen out in the final metres - only for the Norwegian to be narrowly pipped to the line by Liquigas's Daniele Bennati and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions).

Boasson Hagen's second-placed finish on Sunday however meant he claimed the red jersey and Sutton was delighted with the effort the team had put in to achieve that goal.

He said: "It was awesome. The team were incredible, all moving as one and looking after each other. It was really impressive.

"It was a quick race, and at times a little tricky with the wind, but the whole team stuck together and made sure Edvald was protected.

"Towards the finish it was a bit dangerous as the road was tight. It's hard to stay together in those circumstances as gaps open and close all the time, but we were all there with a lap to go.

"Maybe I started my sprint a little bit too late, but we did the best we could and we're all delighted with the overall."

Bright future

Sutton has been hugely impressed by what he has seen from Boasson Hagan in Oman and believes it is only a matter of time before the 22-year-old claims his first individual stage win of the season.

"We'll try and get Edvald up for a win," he added. "As they say, you keep knocking on the door and eventually it's going to open.

"We've got faith in Edvald and we know he's going really well. We all know our roles and what we've got to do and we'll do everything we can.

"On Tuesday we'll protect Edvald again and keep him at the front. Because we're in the lead now we have to control the race and everybody's up for the task of doing it."