Cyclist Fery undeterred by road accident

Cyclist Fery undeterred by road accident

JAKARTA (JP): Eight years ago, 13-year-old Fery Sonic was
cycling along the road in front of his house in the small town of
Sukabumi in West Java when a car hit him.

"The driver was found to be drunk. People in the neighborhood
pulled him out from his car and beat him severely. I was sent to
the hospital and the doctors gave me several stitches," Fery told
The Jakarta Post at his training camp in Subang, West Java.

Fery said the accident did not prevent him from pursuing his
favorite pastime.

"There's no way (I would stop). I have fallen in love with the
sport. I have been involved in the accident because of this
activity, but I will continue cycling," he said while preparing
with eight other cyclists for the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA)
Games in Brunei Darussalam.

In 1992, Fery, while cycling in Cianjur, West Java, was again
hit by a car and dislocated his right shoulder.

"I was practicing in the tour de West Java provincial
tournament. I failed to compete because I had to rest for a month
to recover from the injury," said the student of the Japanese
Language faculty of the School of Foreign Languages (STBA) in
Bandung.

Fery is one of Indonesia's gold hopes in the men's cross
country event.

Born on Sept. 10, 1978, he earlier tried his luck in the road
race events.

"But I finally found out that I could not improve in this
event. So in 1993, I switched to mountain biking," he said,
adding that he won third place in a junior championship at
Cipayung, West Java, in 1993.

Fery, the second of three children, said he had taken part in
local and regional championships, including four series of the
Asian championships.

In the first series in 1995, bicycle problems crushed his
hopes and a Japanese took first place. In 1996, he failed for the
same reason and the gold went to Chinese Taipei. In 1997, he was
in the 50s, while the number one spot went to the Philippines.

Intensive preparation finally gave him a gold medal at the
1997 SEA Games cross-country event after he clocked 2:00:03.29.

In 1998, he entered the Asian top 10.

This year Fery will compete in both the cross-country and
downhill events.

"I want to retain what I achieved two years ago," he said.

Fery named the Thai athletes as strong contenders, as they won
silver medals in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

He and fellow cyclist Rissa Suseanty has a contract with the
Asian Cannondale cycling team for one year. The team is allowed
to compete in four tournament series held in Malaysia by the
bicycle manufacturer.

Fery said he had competed in the first two series.

"I receive access to training facilities and jerseys from
Cannondale. After we have completed the four series, talks will
take place as to whether we should extend our contracts," he
said. (ivy)