Tour de ISSI back on track

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Cycling Association (ISSI) will stage the Aspirin Tour de ISSI 2000 from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10, after being absent for eight years due to financial restraints.

Chief of the organizers, Denny Gumulya, said the tour would cover 1,315 kms of road in 10 stages from East Java to Jakarta. The route passes through Surabaya, Malang, Kediri, Surakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Purwokerto, Tasikmalaya, Bandung and Sukabumi.

From Sukabumi, Denny said, the participants would be transported to Jakarta by bus to compete in the last stage of the criterium event to be held at Jakarta International Trade Fair complex in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

"From this tour, we will select the best cyclists, who will be groomed for the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur," he was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.

He said 120 cyclists from 20 chapters have registered for the tour, which received a Rp 1 billion (US$117,647) sponsorship from PT Bayer Indonesia, a publicly listed pharmaceutical company.

Cyclist Guntur of East Java won the individual event in the 1992 Tour de ISSI that covered a 1,175-km route from Jakarta to Denpasar, while West Java outshone in the team event. (ivy)