ISSI disappointed with Tour de Langkawi's result
ISSI disappointed with Tour de Langkawi's result
JAKARTA (JP): The deputy secretary-general of the Indonesian
Cycling Association (ISSI), Sofian Ruzian, expressed his
disappointment with the performance of Indonesian cyclists in the
Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia.
In the individual competition of the 12-stage tour which ended
on Sunday, Goang Sulistiyono managed the best showing for
Indonesia, finishing 17th out of 26 East Asian cyclists, and 83rd
out of the 126 cyclists from around the world competing in the
event.
His compatriots Herry Janto Setiawan, Wawan Setyobudi,
Suyitno, Hengky Setiawan and Joni Soeryo Agung finished 21/104,
22/110, 23/122, 24/124 and 26/126, respectively.
The six cyclists, however, salvaged some pride for Indonesia
by finishing fifth in the overall East Asian team event, clocking
a time of 118 hours 40 minutes and 11 seconds. They found
themselves behind Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and China.
Besides Indonesia, the teams competing in the East Asia
division were Japan, South Korean and Southeast Asian countries.
Sofian said the result was Indonesia's worst showing in the
tour.
"We earlier targeted winning the East Asian championship in
this tour. But this was not fulfilled. With this result, we don't
know if we will be invited to next year's tour because the
organizer had warned us to send our best and strongest team to
this year's tour," he said.
He said ISSI should have sent its national cyclists to compete
in the event, which offered 1 million ringgit in prize money.
"ISSI can't afford to pay for the transportation and
accommodation of the national cyclists.
"The six cyclists who took part in this championship came from
East Java. They received financial support from certain parties
in their province. The championship should serve as a warm-up
tournament for the 15th National Games which will be hosted by
East Java," he said.
He said Indonesia's top cyclist, Tonton Susanto from West
Java, won the East Asian riders overall title at the event in
1998. Tonton also finished third in the East Asian division in
the 1997 tour. At that time, Kazakhstan was included in the East
Asian division. Indonesia also finished third in the team event
at the 1997 tour.
Sofian said the East Java cyclists were weak in the mountains.
"They were spineless when they rode in the mountains, so they
were left behind," he said.
In the individual competition, Christopher Horner from Team
Mercury finished first, followed by Julio Alberto Perez (Panaria
Gaerne) and Fortunato Baliani (Aguardiente Nectar).
Wong Kam Po of the Telekom Malaysia team won the overall title
for East Asian riders. He was followed by Malaysian cyclist and
1999 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Shahrulneeza Razali,
with Japan's Hidenori Nodera in third.(ivy)