Hollands gives Giant second victory in cycle tour
Hollands gives Giant second victory in cycle tour
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jember/East Java
The Giant Asia Racing Team, which is competing with only three riders, managed to snatch a second victory after Edmund Hollands won the seventh stage of the Dji Sam Soe Tour d'Indonesia here on Monday.
Despite the win, Giant is still trailing in the teams classification. Greenfields Fresh Milk, whose riders have never won a stage, remains in top place ahead of Polygon Sweet Nice Pro Team and the Hong Kong National team.
The table-top flat route from Surabaya to Jember, meant several riders broke away early. Fifteen riders, including Australian Hollands, were in the leading pack when they were held up by a train in Klakah, 50 kilometers from the finish.
Hollands sprinted the final 20 kilometers and crossed the line first, leaving Abdullah Fatahillah of Polygon Sweet Nice B and Rhyan Tanguilig of Pagcor Casino Filipino in second and third place respectively.
He covered the 189.2-kilometer route in four hours, 39 minutes and 26 seconds and finished only two bike-lengths in front of his rivals as a large crowd in central Jember watched.
"It's a hot day and it was a tough race. It looks like people are coming out more than in previous stages," Hollands told the Jakarta Post.
Team manager Qiu Jijin said Hollands' win had to do with other strong riders being more focused on monitoring teammates to conserve their time gaps.
"Hollands was able to capitalize on the situation when other strong riders were watching out for each other," he said.
"I had no instruction about which rider in my team should pull away. I just told them to take the pace whenever they had the chance to do so," he said.
Hollands was the second Giant rider to win a stage after Ghader Mizbani, who made a one-two finish for the team with Lai Kuan Hua in the fourth stage between Semarang and Jogjakarta.
Jijin said he had had a hard time in drawing up a strategy plan with only three riders on the team.
Giant would probably have been the strongest team in the tour had its riders not pulled out. It had an initial list that included Ireland's David McGann and Iranian Ahad Kazemi. McGann canceled his Indonesian tour and opted instead to take part in the World Championship. Kazemi had arrived with the team only to return home before the tour started due to a family emergency.
The Taiwan-based team turned to local riders Joshua Sudargo and Amir Mahmud. Joshua was disqualified early in the tour while Amir had to abandon his race after suffering a fracture in the second stage.
Rochmat Nugraha of the Indonesian National Team won the sprint in Monday's race with Fatahillah and Sansoko Reno Yudo of Kencana Bike Team taking second and third place.
The results mean that Rochmat's teammate Suwandra, who triumphed in the sixth stage's sprint, will be crowned the tour's best sprinter. The remaining two stages do not feature sprints.
Monday's race saw New Zealander Nathan Dahlberg of Greenfields Fresh Milk retain the yellow jersey, remaining ahead of Amin Suryana of Sinar Sentosa Purwakarta and Wong Ngai-Cing of the Hong Kong National Team.
The general team classification also stayed the same with Greenfields leading Polygon Sweet Nice Pro Team and Hong Kong.
Barring a breakthrough by rivals, Dahlberg and his team are likely to maintain their top places until the final stage.
Greenfields manager Puspita Mustika said the team would not put all its energies into winning a stage, but would instead focus on its close rivals both in the individual and team competitions.
"As long as we can keep pace with our rivals, our position will not be in jeopardy. We will prevent Amin from breaking away. If he does, one of our riders will be released to follow him," Puspita said.
"Hong Kong has agreed to work together with us to carry out the strategy because Hong Kong is concerned with maintaining its place as well," he said.
The eighth stage on Tuesday from Jember to Banyuwangi on the tip of East Java measures the shortest distance at 102.7 kilometers but includes a tough 14-kilometer climb.
Results from the seventh stage of the Dji Sam Soe Tour d'Indonesia from Surabaya to Jember on Monday:
Stage individual classification 1. Edmund Hollands GNT/Aus 4:39:26 2. Abdullah Fatahillah PSB/Ina 4:39:26 3. Rhyan Tanguilig PCF/Phi 4:39:30 General individual classification 1. Nathan Dahlberg GFM/Nzl 30:34:59 2. Amin Suryana SSP/Ina 30:37:13 3. Wong Ngai-Cing HKG/Hkg 30:41:57 Sprint winners 1. Rochmat Nugraha INA/Ina 5 points 2. Abdullah Fatahillah PSB/Ina 3 pts 3. Sansoko Reno Yudo KBT/Ina 2 pts General individual classification, sprint 1. Suwandra INA/Ina 8 pts 2. Sansoko Reno Yudo KBT/Ina 7 pts 3. Rochmat Nugroho INA/Ina 6 pts