Cyclist Santia gets ticket to ride in the Netherlands

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Cyclist Santia Tri Kusuma, part of the elite Indonesia Awakens (IA) training program, is scheduled to leave for the Netherlands next week to ride for top women's club R en TC Groenewoud.

Member of the referees commission of the Indonesian Cycling Association (ISSI) Eva Catharina said on Thursday that Santia would likely leave on June 8, pending approval of her visa.

She will be on a three-month stint for the team in European races.

"The Dutch club became interested in her when it saw her in a World Cup series competition in Australia," said Eva, who will accompany Santia to the Netherlands.

According to National Sports Council (KONI) data issued on Wednesday, Santia won the third stage in Australia.

Eva said Santia was originally scheduled to compete for six months from May, but her visa was not approved in time.

Accommodation, training and meal costs in the Netherlands will be paid by the club, while ISSI is providing the return ticket from Jakarta to the Netherlands.

Earlier, head of the IA program Djoko Pramono said that cycling was showing the most improvement among the 12 IA sports, evident from Santia's recruitment and the satisfactory results of other cyclists in competition.

IA athletes are in training for major regional sporting events, including this year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and the 2006 Asiad.

"I think Santia's level is not only at that to win a gold in the SEA Games, but she must be able to win a medal in the Asian Games," he said.

ISSI will also hold the Tour de Indonesia in September, with five teams -- Giant Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, IR Iran, Vietnam and Perth City -- already confirmed to participate.

A total of 12 foreign and five local teams are expected to take part in the race, starting on Sept. 11 in Jakarta and finishing on Sept. 21 in Denpasar, Bali.