Ferinanto hits four, Razali wins Tour d'ISSI

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian cyclist Ferinanto pedaled his way to a fourth stage win in the Dji Sam Soe Tour d'ISSI race on Tuesday, but it was not enough to earn him the winner's trophy which went to Malaysia's Shahrulneeza Razali.

Local hero Ferinanto clocked three hours, 25 minutes and 28 seconds as he completed the 151-kilometer closing stage from the East Java capital of Surabaya to Taman Dayu in Malang, beating another Malaysian Mahazir Hamad in the final sprint.

It was the second stage win in a row for Ferinanto in his home province, but his total time was outside the top three in the overall standings. Ferinanto lost too much time when he failed to finish the fourth stage from Purwokerto to Pekalongan in Central Java last Wednesday.

Ferinanto, a native of Madiun, scored his fourth stage win by making full use of the descending road and the flat track heading to the finish.

"I just tried to stay with the big peloton. And while most of the cyclists played it safe to maintain their individual and team standings, I took advantage of this situation," sprint specialist Ferinanto said after the race.

Consistency was the key to Razali's victory, although the Malaysian won only one stage, the sixth one between Semarang and Yogyakarta on Friday.

He became the second Malaysian to win the Tour since its inception in 1968 after Ng. Joo Ngan, who triumphed in the second edition of the cycling race in 1970.

Razali clocked a total time of 34:32:19 to complete the 1,391- kilometer route between Jakarta and Malang to lead a Malaysian one-two finish ahead of compatriot Suhardi Hasan, the winner of the opening stage on Aug. 18. Indonesia's Amin Suryana, who represented West Java finished third.

It was the first win for Razali outside his home soil.

"I'm glad to win the individual title, although it is the work of the team. I won thanks to the help of my team mates," Razali said as quoted by Antara

Malaysia should have won also the team title, but the competition regulations do not allow a team to sweep the laurels. The organizers awarded the President's Cup trophy to West Java as the winning team instead.

Ferinanto won the consolation best sprint title, while Malaysia's Hasan took the best climber title.

This year's Tour, the 13th edition of the race, was marred by the death of Yana Rochdiana in the second stage last Tuesday after he collided with a passenger bus near Bandung regency.