Agtmaal wins 5th stage, Askari keeps lead

Agtmaal wins 5th stage, Askari keeps lead

Twenty-three-year-old Dutch cyclist Peter Van Agtmaal of the
Jong en Laan team claimed back-to-back stage wins on Saturday but
Iranian Hossein Askari retained the yellow jersey in the Tour
d'Indonesia.

After a one-day break on Friday, the competition resumed with
the 108.2-kilometer fifth stage from Surakarta to Madiun which
Agtmaal won in two hours, 27 minutes and two seconds. He also won
the fourth stage from Yogyakarta to Surakarta on Thursday.

Vietnamese Nguyen nam Cuc finished in second place.

Askari of the Chinese Taipei-based Giant Asia Racing team was
in 31st but he is still the fastest overall.

Askari was quoted by Antara as saying that he found difficulty
in the attack during the race because of high temperatures and
rough road conditions in some parts.

Ryan Ariehaan of the Dodol Picnic Garut team maintained his
status as Indonesia's best rider to keep the red-and-white
jersey. Ryan has so far performed better than his national
teammates Purwanto of Bintang Kranggan and Hari Fitrianto of
Polygon Sweet Nice.

Another national team member for the next Southeast Asian
(SEA) Games, Ferinanto, who had been hoping for a podium place in
his hometown, was involved in a tight race against Agtmaal and
Bastian Krol but ended up fourth.

The 9-stage race will end in Bali on Sept. 21. -- JP