Yakovlev chalks double in 8th stage
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The penultimate day of the nine-stage Tour d'Indonesia cycling race belonged to Yevgeny Yakolev, who not only won the eighth stage but was crowned the king of mountains for the second consecutive year.
Yakolev, from Kazakhstan, clocked the fastest time; two hours 26 minutes 29 seconds in the 102-kilometer route from Jember to Banyuwangi on the eastern tip of Java on Tuesday.
Local riders again trailed behind with Iman Suparman of Benteng Muda taking second place, finishing one second behind.
And with the final stage from Gilimanuk to Denpasar featuring climbs, Yakovlev, who added more points to his climbing standings, landed the king of mountain honor with 19 points overall.
New Zealander Nathan Dahlberg and Dutchman Maint Berkenbosch each collected 16 points.
Iranian Hossein Askari, who retained the leader's yellow jersey, praised Yakovlev's performance.
"Today belongs to Yakolev. Two thumbs up for his incredible achievement," The Giant Racing Team rider Askari was quoted by Antara as saying.
Yakolev, 25, who is in 16th position in the general classification, took three points after coming third at the Batu Apit climb.
In the sprints category, Rhyan Tanguilig of the Casino Filipino team kept pace with another victory at Glenmore, 52.2 kilometers from the start.
He was followed by Mohamad Nor Rosdi of the Letua Malaysia team and Indonesian Rochmat Nugraha of Dodol Picnic Garut.
Rhyan amassed 22 points with Rochmat getting 18 points and Dutchman Bastian Krol of the Jong en Laan team 12 points.
Yakovlev's Surabaya-based Polygon Sweet Nice also recorded the fastest cumulative time followed by Benteng Muda and Purapharm team.
However, Giant Asia Racing is still ahead overall and is close to winning the team category.
Ryan Ariehaan of Dodol Picnic Garut remained the best among local riders and maintained the red-and-yellow jersey. Purwanto of Bintang Kranggan and Hari Fitrianto of Polygon Sweet Nice were second and third best, respectively. (004)