Cyclists set for Tour d'Indonesia

Cyclists set for Tour d'Indonesia

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fourteen international and 5 domestic cycling teams are set to
compete in the 2005 Dji Sam Soe Tour d'Indonesia cycling stage
race, which will start in Bandung on Sept. 12 and wind up on Bali
Sept. 21.

The 1,433-km race is split into nine stages: Bandung-Cirebon,
Cirebon-Purwokerto, Purwokerto-Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta-Solo, Solo-
Madiun, Madiun-Malang, Malang-Jember, Jember-Banyuwangi,
Gilimanuk-Denpasar.

"The riders will do a 'city tour' of Jakarta on Sept. 11
before being transferred to Bandung for the opening stage," race
director Sofian Ruzian said during a press conference here on
Tuesday.

Among the participating teams, Sofian said, City of Perth
Cycling Team, Purapham of Hong Kong and Thailand's National Team
have yet to submit their riders' names.

Purapham is expected to pose a strong challenge with its ace
Wong Kam-Po, whose supporting role helped push teammate Wong Ngai
Cing into third place in the individual classification last year.

Greenfields Fresh Milk of Netherlands, which took the titles
for the individual and team classifications, is back with all but
one new rider.

New Zealand's Nathan Dahlberg, who won last year's yellow
jersey ahead of runner-up Amin Suryana of Indonesia and Wong Ngai
Cing, will be the only rider from GFM's triumphant squad.

The new team members are Autralia's Rhys Pollock and Edmund
Hollands; New Zealand's Robin Neid and Michael Carter of United
States.

"This team is stronger than last year. The race will be more
difficult this year ... but I'm optimistic we can emulate the
feat," team manager Puspita Mustika told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesia's former cycling star said that hill specialists
Neid and Carter would have an equal chance to Dahlberg to take
the race's top honor.

Discussing rivalries from other teams, Puspita said: "Giant
Racing Team, Purapham and several other teams will be strong."

Giant Racing Team of Chinese Taipei has Ghader Mizbani, who is
hailed as one of the best climbers in Asia. Last year, the
Iranian rider took second place in the climbing category here
behind Kazhakstan's Yevgeny Yakovlev.

Amin Suryana returns to the race with a new team: Netherlands-
based Worldwide Cycling-Telkomsel.

A member of the Indonesian team for the Southeast Asian (SEA
Games), Amin, who rode for Sinar Sentosa last year, said he had
been focused on his preparations since April.

Team manager Matthijs Wiggers said that the team strategy
would revolve around pushing Amin to the championship.

"Hopefully, teammates will support me during the race," said
Amin, who was present at the press conference along with
Yakovlev.

Amin's teammates include fellow Indonesian Dwi Haryanto and
the Dutch trio of Anno Pederson, Frank Terwel and Remko Kramer.

Teams:
City of Perth Cycling Team (Aus), Worldwide Cycling Telkomsel,
Snel Isostar, Greenfields Fresh Milk (Ned), Hamburg Cycling Team
(Ger), Giant Asia Racing Team (Tpe), Purapham (Hkg), Casino
Filipino Pro (Phi), Beijing Cycling Team (Chn), Chinese Taipei
national team, Mongolia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Dodol
Picnic, Benteng Muda, Customs Cycling Club, Polygon Sweetnice,
Bintang Kranggan Cycling Club.