Indonesia sends six cyclists to the Philippines for tour

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)