1-Methanesulfonyl-4-methylsulfanyl-benzene (3.25 g) was dissolved in THF (50 mL) and cooled to −78° C. prior to the addition of 1.6 M nBuLi (10 mL). After 0.5 h, BF3-Et2O (2.04 mL) was added followed by (±)(1S*,2R*,4S*)-4-(benzyloxy)-1,2-epoxycyclohexane (2.19 g) (Chini et al. J. Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 4265) in THF (20 mL). After an addition 1 h at −78° C., the solution was warmed to 0° C. After 2 h, the solution was cooled to −78° C. and saturated NH4Cl solution (aq) was added. The solution was warmed to rt and EtOAc was added. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried, filtered, and concentrated. Flash chromatography of the resulting residue gave (±)(1R*,2R*,5S*)-5-benzyloxy-2-(4-methylsulfanyl-benzenesulfonylmethyl)-cyclohexanol (3.5 g) as the major product: 1H NMR (CDCl3, δppm, 300 mHz) 1.41 (m, 2H), 1.59 (m, 1H), 1.95 (m, 1H), 2.05-2.35 (m, 2H), 2.54 (s, 3H), 2.96 (dd, 1H), 3.64 (m, 2H), 3.81 (s, 1H), 4.48 (m, 2H), 7.3 (m, 7H), 7.82 (d, 2H).
