LETUA Dominates JELAJAH MALAYSIA 2008
Feb 05, 2008 at 11:22 AM
KUALA LUMPUR: The continental team from Malaysia, LeTua dominates the Jelajah Malaysia (JM) 2008 after the 7-stage race ended today.
LeTua was nominated as the Best Local Team recording a time of 65 hours 4 minutes and 23 seconds. The team managed to be in the third placing behind Tabriz Petrochemical and Team Japan each in first and second position in Best Overall Team category.
As predicted, Tonton Susanto from Team LeTua firms his grip to the Red Jersey, which is the jersey desired by all riders to be nominated as Best Overall Rider.
The rider who hails from Bandung, Indonesia recorded 21 hours 32 minutes and 38 seconds leading all competing riders and also in the second place in the King of Mountain category.
“This is the first time in my career to win the best overall rider and I’m grateful to my team as their cooperation, support and teamwork ensure my win in JM.
“I will stick with Team LeTua and will strive to better LeTua’s position in the upcoming Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) next month,” quoted the 35-year old rider
Another rider from LeTua, Anuar Manan, 22, graced the podium as he maintains his hold to the Blue Jersey (Sprint King) with 29 points.
The Sprint King title won by the rider who hails from Kuala Ibai, Terengganu was the very title he had won for the second time consecutively as he won it in the previous JM.
As for the Best Local Rider Suhardi Hassan, 26, RTM Jersey was his for the second time as he had won it in the previous year.
“In JM this year I represents Team Kuala Lumpur and will be back with the National Team Malaysia for the preparation to compete in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL). The race today also witnessed my best achievement in a cycling tour,” said the rider who will be getting married this March.
The rider who was born in Perlis is also in the fifth overall position behind Tonton, Ghader Mizbani (Tabriz Petrochemical), Frederick Johansson (Differdang-Apiflo Vacances and Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical).
Polka Dot Jersey also remains with 33-year old Hossein, as JM 2008’s King of Mountain.
In the final stage today, Yusuke Hatanaka from team Skil Shimano won the criterium round in Dataran Merdeka in 1 hour 7 minutes and 57 seconds.
President Commisaire, Zhao Jinshan made the decision that there will be no points in the sprint zone due to the rain, as the route is slippery and poses a danger to all riders.
JM 2008 which started on 7 Jan and concluded today covers a route of 1,003.8km offering an overall prize money RM245,000 up for grabs.
Last Updated ( Feb 05, 2008 at 11:40 AM )
Monday, 25 February 2008
Track Cycling World Cup: fourth win for Holland and 10 Olympic qualifications
Date: 19.02.2008
Description:
For the fourth year running, Holland has won the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics. This victory is a reflection of the remarkable regularity of Willy Kanis, with three overall classification wins in the sprint, the keirin and the team sprint. She was the star of the last leg of the series, which took place in Copenhagen. The supremacy of the Dutch riders was unwavering throughout the season: Indeed, Theo Bos and his team dominated the four legs of the competition, which stopped in Sydney, Beijing and Los Angeles, before arriving in Europe five weeks before the World Championships in Manchester.
Holland is currently without doubt the world’s leading force in track cycling. This new triumph rewards the National Federation’s excellent work over the last few years, and any ambitions it has for the upcoming competitions are fully justified.
Willy Kanis was victorious in the individual sprint and the keirin in Copenhagen. However, after three victories with her partner Yvonne Hijgenaar in the team sprint, she was beaten this time by the British riders Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade. Willy Kanis will be in good company during the events that attribute the rainbow jerseys at the end of March; in particular, the former World BMX Champion will be accompanied by Theo Bos, who stayed in the shadows in Denmark. In the middle of preparing the season’s most important races, Bos only participated in the team sprint, finishing in second place with Teun Mulder and Tim Veldt, behind the French team of Grégory Baugé, François Pervis and Kévin Sireau.
Kévin Sireau was then victorious against the World Champion Chris Hoy in the individual sprint. This also won him first place in the general classification for the specialty as well as his qualification for the Olympic Games. It is a significant exploit for a 21-year-old athlete, who we will certainly continue to talk about in the future.
The French coach Florian Rousseau was understandably optimistic after the Copenhagen races, which confirmed the vitality of his team’s sprint section. It will not be an easy choice for him between five valuable riders such as Bourgain, Tournant, winner of the Keirin International, Pervis, who was on the highest step of the podium in the kilometre, Baugé and Sireau. His counterparts would probably also like to be spoiled for choice in the same way.
Four of the 17 gold medals up for grabs at the last leg of the World Cup were won by Great Britain. As well as the one that went to the sprint team, the British won gold for the team pursuit (men), the individual pursuit (women) with Rebcca Romero, and the keirin avec Chris Hoy.
The other winners in Copenhagen were: the Dutch riders Pim Ligthart – his first victory at this level – in the points race, Marianne Vos, once again in the women’s scratch race, and Wim Stroetinga in the same event for men, the Chinese Jinjie Gong in the 500 metres and Wan Yiu Wong in the women’s points race, the Spanish rider Sergi Escobar, who re-tasted victory in the pursuit after four years, and the Germans in the women’s team pursuit.
Finally, the most awaited-for moment for the Danish public was the Madison. Alex Rasmussen and Michael Morkov took victory in an atmosphere of enthusiasm. Their victory also earned them first place in the overall final classification and therefore the precious ticket for China.
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