RI riders set to end Japan's domination

RI riders set to end Japan's domination

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will fight tooth and nail to end
Japan's domination in the Second Asian Mountainbiking
Championships in Taipei from Nov. 30.

"Japanese riders ruled the roost in last year's event. But we
are out to put up a formidable challenge to them in Taipei. Our
riders have been training extra hard, with beating the Japanese
uppermost in their minds," Didi Soedijanto, the Indonesian
Cycling Association's training director, said over the weekend.

He said the nine national riders selected for the meet "had
gone from strength to strength" with each training session.

"They had been exposed to a series of intensive and rigorous
training sessions and tryouts since early last month. The
workouts included weeks of hard drills around heavy and difficult
hilly tracks in six provinces," Didi said.

Eight men and a woman will represent Indonesia. They are Amir
Mahmud, Ferianto, Feri Sonik, Marta M., Sani W., Soni M.
Herianto, Sugianto, Zainal and Riza Susiati, the only female in
the squad.

Didi said the riders had also gone through special drills and
workouts in Malang, East Java, in preparation for the Asian
championships.

He said the championships would give Indonesia a yardstick to
gauge how much ground the riders had gained after the weeks of
hard training at home. "At the same time we can also use the
event to spy on the strengths of our Southeast Asian rivals who
we will tackle at the 19th SEA Games next year in Jakarta."

The Indonesian team left for Seoul yesterday.

Didi said the riders and their officials departed early to
study the tracks and adjust to the climate. (bas)