Indonesia sends six cyclists to the Philippines for tour

JAKARTA (JP): Asian Games cycling hopeful Tonton Susanto will lead Indonesia's squad at the Marlboro Centennial Tour of the Philippines from April 15 to May 3.

The Indonesian Cycling Association's chief of athlete development, Sofyan Rozian, said yesterday that Tonton will team up with five other cyclists recruited from the national club champion Araya of East Java.

Sofyan said he did not expect the team to win the annual cycling competition but to finish third. The Indonesian team was fifth in last year's event won by Hong Kong.

"The tour will serve as a part of drills for Tonton before he leaves for the Asian Games in Bangkok next December. We also want to give an opportunity to young riders from outside Jakarta to participate in an international event," he said.

Araya's ace riders will comprise Suyitno, Kaswanto, Moh. Ali Kaprawi, Andi Sistiawan and Jatmiko. Sofyan said they had trained for six months for the Philippine outing.

Tonton, who won the Asian category at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia in February, is sole local cyclist in training for the Asiad.

Sofyan considered Hong Kong the favorite to defend its title and take the US$500 top purse in the Tour of the Philippines, despite strong competition from Japan and the host teams.

In addition to its national squad, the Philippines will also field nine provincial teams.

"The Philippine national team will of course take the full home advantage, not to mention backup from their provincial teams. But Hong Kong is technically and physically strong," Sofyan said.

This year's Tour of the Philippines, with total distance of 2,570.4 kilometers spread over 16 stages, starts from Cebu city and finishes in Luneta Criterium. A total of 30 foreign cyclists from five international teams and 54 Filipino riders have confirmed their participation.

The Centennial Sprint, a highlight of this year's event as part of the centenary celebrations of Philippine independence, is expected to raise the level of competition in every stage.

Indonesian riders will be accompanied by two team officials and manager Munaji, who was coach of the mountain bike squad at last year's 19th SEA Games here. (emf)