Japanese rider clinches Gudang Garam race title

Japanese rider clinches Gudang Garam race title

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Japanese rider Dan Takuma, a bronze
medalist at the Atlanta Olympics, had too much firepower for his
Indonesian adversaries yesterday, winning the Gudang Garam
Mountainbike cycling race with consummate ease.

Takuma took a commanding lead from the outset all the way to
the finishing line, completely unchallenged. He clocked
1:51:54.82 in the 15-km race held around the hilly tourist
resorts of Toya Bungkah, Gunung Batur and Kintamani, some 68 km
east of here.

National cyclist Ferianto finished a distant second with a
time of 1:53:45.82. Another national rider, Ferisonic, came third
in 1:54:32.86.

Marta Mufreni, also national rider, crossed the finish line in
fourth place.

The gold medalist for mountain biking at the National Games,
Sugiarto, did not turn up for the race reportedly because his
right leg was injured. Had he taken part, he might have
challenged Takuma.

When the formidable Takuma had a huge lead with only two
kilometers to go, the question on everybody's mind was who would
finish second. And in a thrilling battle for second place,
Ferianto managed to take the upper hand over the rest of the
pack.

Twenty-three riders, 12 from Indonesia and 11 from Japan, are
taking part in the races which end today with a 10-km downhill
event.

After his victory, Takuma said the treachery, stony arena full
of hilly bends and curves made the race quite challenging.

"The track is good enough, the landscape is quite panoramic.
But unfortunately some parts of the track are slippery. This
caused me to fall from my bike several times. I also found big
stones left scattered in the middle of the track," the Japanese
cyclist said through an interpreter.

On the Indonesian riders, 26-year-old Takuma, who claims to
have been in the sport since he was 10, said some of the local
cyclists in the race had a bright future.

He singled out Ferianto as his "most dangerous rival" in the
race: "He is talented, and has an unflinching, never-say die
spirit. What he needs is more international exposure."

Local sports scribes aside, the annual race was covered by
three Japanese journalists from the Bicycle Club and Cycle Sports
English language magazines and Kumamoto Nishi-Nichi Shimbun
newspaper. (bas)