RI cyclists face uphill battle in Tour de Langkawi c'ship<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian cyclists are expecting an uphill
\nbattle against their overseas opponents in the Tour de Langkawi
\nchampionships in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.<\/p>\n
"Our cyclists have smaller builds and their mental preparation
\nis still behind the overseas teams," Tonton Susanto, a national
\ncyclist from Subang, West Java, said in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.<\/p>\n
The Tour de Langkawi begins today. The riders will have to
\nfinish 12 stages, or a total distance of 1,629 kilometers from
\nKota Kinabalu to Langkawi Island. It is the biggest race in Asia
\nand third biggest in the world after the Tour de France and the
\nGiro d'Italy.<\/p>\n
Nearly 150 cyclists grouped into 25 teams from 24 countries
\nwill take part in the 12-day race that finishes on March 2. The
\ncyclists come from Canada, Denmark, England, Ireland, Norway,
\nSlovakia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Philippines,
\nMalaysia, Australia, USA, South Africa, Germany, France,
\nSwitzerland, Belgium, Italy, Finland, and New Zealand. They are
\nvying for prize money totaling Rp 900 million (US$375,000).<\/p>\n
Indonesia will be represented by Tonton Susanto, Muhammad
\nHandy, Mohammad Basri, Supaedi Effendy, Teguh Eko Pambudi and
\nKrisyanto. The six men, being trained by H. Tarwi and Gatot
\nSandjaja, are among the national cyclists being groomed for the
\nSEA Games in October.<\/p>\n
"Our cyclists are going through intensive training for the
\nMalaysian race, which is a warm-up for the SEA Games," Tonton
\nquoted Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
He added that Indonesia would have to look out for Malaysia,
\nwhich hopes to take most of the titles on offer. "We have a
\nslight chance of beating the cyclists from Europe and the USA and
\nwe have to win against our opponents from Southeast Asia,
\nparticularly Thailand and Malaysia," Tonton said.<\/p>\n
Of the same opinion was Gatot, who added that Malaysia is well
\nprepared for the race.<\/p>\n
"Malaysia is relying on M. Kumaresan and Tsen Seong Hoong.
\nThey certainly don't want to lose to Indonesia on their own
\nsoil," Gatot said. (lnt)<\/p>\n
Stages<\/p>\n
First stage: Kota Kinabalu (individual team trial of 19.1
\nkilometers);
\n Second stage: Sarawak (123.2km)
\n Third stage: Batu Pahat-Bandar Malaka (92km)
\n Fourth stage: Port Dickson-Sunway Lagoon (203,5km)
\n Fifth stage: Sunway Lagoon-Kuala Lumpur (159.1km)
\n Sixth stage: Bukit Kiara-Genting Highland (71.3km)
\n Seventh stage: Bentung-Pahang-Kuantan (198km)
\n Eighth stage: Kuantan-Kuala Terengganu (204.9km)
\n Ninth stage: Kuala Terengganu-Kota Bahru (166km)
\n Tenth stage: Jeli-Perak-Gerik (132km)
\n Eleventh stage: Kangar-Kedah-Penang (189.4km)
\n Final stage: Road race on Langkawi Island.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-cyclists-face-uphill-battle-in-tour-de-langkawi-cship-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}