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