Malaysia rues lack of competition
Malaysia rues lack of competition
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Malaysian cycling team is disappointed with the lack of
international competition at the 2003 Tour d'ISSI, which begins
here on Saturday.
With an eye on the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam in
December, Malaysia had hoped to use the race as a warm-up for
Vietnam.
"We came here in response to Indonesia's invitation to take
part in the competition," team manager Zulaihi Sri said.
Malaysia is the only foreign country to send riders to
Indonesia for the 11-day tour.
"We want to use this event as a warm-up for the SEA Games," he
said during a media conference at the Front Row Cafe here on
Thursday.
Zulaihi could not hide his disappointment that riders from
Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore would not be taking part in the
race.
Indonesian ace Tonton Susanto also will not be taking part in
the event. Tonton, one of the strongest riders in Asia, has opted
to take part in a race in China.
Malaysia will field two teams for the tour: a six-strong
national team and four-strong Selangor team. Among the riders is
Sharul Neeza Mohd Razali, the gold medalist in the 41-kilometer
individual time trial at the 1999 SEAG in Brunei.
"We came here to gauge out strength against our rivals in the
region. It's unfortunate that Vietnam couldn't join us," Zulaihi,
who heads the national team, said.
He hinted at the pressure his riders would face in the event
as the clear favorites to dominate.
"If you lose to strong opponents, you should feel gracious.
But if you lose to weak opponents, it's humiliating."
Syahrudin Hasyim, the leader of the Selangor team, said, "The
competition would be more challenging if Tonton was here.
"However, there is still Ferry Nanto. We can expect a tough
challenge from him," he said, referring to a member of
Indonesia's national team.
The Malaysians will be among 120 riders in the race.
Participants from Indonesia come from 18 provinces: Jakarta,
Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, North
Sumatra, Lampung, South Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bengkulu, East
Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Central
Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Bali.
The nine-stage race will follow a 1,391-kilometer route from
Jakarta to Surabaya.
The riders will join a prologue on Saturday before embarking
on the first stage on Sunday, which will cover 135 kilometers
from Jakarta to Cianjur, West Java.
The riders will then be transported to Bandung, where they
will begin the 135-kilometer second stage to Tasikmalaya.
The eighth stage from Madiun to Surabaya will be the longest,
covering 234 kilometers.
Organizers are providing a total of Rp 234 million (US$27,368)
in cash prizes, which will be distributed in six categories:
individual and team stage winners, overall individual and team
winners, overall sprint and climb champions.
Each participating team can field up to six riders, but only
the top three will count for the team competition.