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