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Thu, 08 May 2003

JP/Foreign bikers to compete in Borobudur race

Foreign bikers to compete in Borobudur race

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Teams from Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have confirmed their participation in the inaugural Borobudur International Mountain Bike (MTB) Open Championship, organizers said here on Wednesday.

"Those four countries' teams are set to come. The Chinese mountain bikers informed us about their possible participation but they have not contacted us further yet since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus became a big issue," Budi Ariyanto, chairman of the organizing committee, told reporters.

Budi said he met with Agum Gumelar, chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI), late in the afternoon to report about the final preparations for the championship.

The committee is also awaiting teams from Japan and South Korea who may also take part, he said.

The Borobudur Mountain Bike event, which offers a total of US$12,500 in cash prizes, is scheduled to start on June 15. The event will be part of the week-long Borobudur festival near the Borobudur Temple compound in Magelang, Central Java, from June 11 to June 17. The festival is aimed at promoting Borobudur to the world.

The Borobudur race will be a the cross-country event covering a distance of 4 kilometers on the Dagi Hills inside the Borobudur Temple conservation area.

The race will be split into four categories: elite, masters, seniors and juniors.

Besides the foreign participants, the elite group will feature six national athletes currently undergoing training workouts in Malang, East Java, for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam.

The six local riders are Ferry Sonic, Usman Ali, Amir Mahmud, Sugianto, Dadi and Kusmawati.

However, the committee, as Budi said, has been encouraging the local clubs to field their strongest athletes in the elite competition for the sake of national MTB development.

"Potential mountain bikers will be really tested in the elite group. If they survive that test, they have a good chance of being called up to the national team," he said.