Ferinanto wins fifth stage of Tour d'ISSI
Ferinanto wins fifth stage of Tour d'ISSI
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang
Indonesian riders dominated the 146-kilometer fifth stage of the
cycling Tour d'ISSI on Thursday from Pekalongan to Semarang,
taking all three podium positions.
Ferinanto of Eest Java matched his stage three triumph to take
his second stage of the race. He averaged 42.82 kilometers per
hour to cover the stage in two hours, 25 minutes and 44 seconds.
Suwandra of West Kalimantan and Kaswanto of Lampung followed
in second and third place, respectively. Both riders had the same
time as Ferinanto, but the winner was awarded a bonus of 10
seconds, Suwandra six seconds and Kaswanto four.
Musairi Musa of Malaysia, the winner of stage four, finished
in a distant 61st position. His countryman Suhardi Hassan
finished in seventh, but kept the yellow jersey of the overall
leader with a time of 16 hours, 21 minutes and 11 seconds.
Amin Suryana of West Java is eight seconds behind in the
overall standings, while Musairi Musa remained in third place 38
seconds behind the leader.
The second stage win for Ferinanto helped his East Java team
win the stage on Thursday, but overall the Malaysian team is
still on top followed by West Java and Yogyakarta.
The 2003 Tour d'ISSI, which was marred by the death of a rider
during the second stage from Bandung Tasikmalaya, will cover a
total of 1,391 kilometers from Jakarta to Surabaya in nine
stages.
The riders will head south on Friday for the 161-kilometer
sixth stage from Semarang to Yogyakarta. The riders will pass
through some beautiful landscape, with Mount Merapi and Merbabu
forming the backdrop, but they will also have to contend with
notoriously steep climbs.
There will be a climbing section beginning at kilometer 92
from Cepogo to Selo, where the Climbing King will be decided.
With the absence of Indonesian Tonton Susanto, the Malaysian
cyclists, who like Tonton are known for their climbing ability,
are expected to dominate the stage. Tonton decided to skip this
event in favor of a race in China.
Friday's stage will begin at 11 a.m. local time. After
reaching Yogyakarta, the riders will have a one-day break before
embarking on the next stage from Yogyakarta to Madiun in East
Java.
Meanwhile, the organizers announced they would give 15 riders
drug tests.
Husein Argasasmita, the chairman of the event's organizing
committee, said four riders had already been tested following the
fourth stage. He said those tested were the top three finishers
in the stage and the holder of the yellow jersey.
"The remaining riders (to be tested) will be chosen from the
seventh and eighth stages," Husein said as quoted by Antara.
He said any rider who tested positive would face sanctions
from world cycling governing body UCI.