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- Shantou
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- 2005-12-11
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RUJANO WINS TOUR DE LANGKAWI, MANAN SCOOPS GREEN JERSEY, SHAW TAKES FINAL STAGE
Enjoying a relatively stress free day due to his team’s control of the race, Venezuelan rider Jose Rujano today won the Tour de Langkawi and showed that he is back to his best form.
The 28 year old finished safely in the main bunch at the end of the 133.7 kilometre final stage from Kuala Kubu Baru to Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Close marking by his ISD-Neri team meant that his closest competitors were unable to get clear, with the only serious move being one involving Ghader Misbani (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling).
The Iranian started the day five minutes and 12 seconds behind Rujano, but a 52 kilometre breakaway move only saw his group gain one minute 45 seconds. These riders were hauled back on the finishing circuits in Kuala Lumpur, as were a couple of subsequent breaks.
The final stage victory went to the Australian Stuart Shaw (Drapac-Porsche), who showed strong form despite a disruption to his training and racing recently. He was delighted with his win, especially as he had come to Malaysia expecting to perform domestique (team helper) duties.
“I just had my appendix out and had surgery. I had three months off my bike and this is my first race in five months,” he said. “The team sent me here, which was nice, to come and help Peter [McDonald] win the King of the Mountain and to help Adiq Othman.
“I just came here to help the team and every day I got a little bit stronger. Today I felt good near the sprint. So I had a bit of a go. It was a nice result.”
McDonald had started the day level on points with Rujano in the King of the Mountains competition but, thanks to the latter’s first place on yesterday’s hors categorie climb up to Genting Highlands, he was awarded the jersey.
McDonald knew he had to beat him by at least one point to secure victory in the classification, and had strong team support in the first KOM prime at Batu Arang (km 41.3). He was first to the top, with his team-mate David Pell second and Rujano only third.
Neither of them disputed the final KOM climb in this year’s race, Batu Arang (km 50.6), which went to Irishman David McCann (Giant Asia) ahead of Dmytro Grabovskyy(ISD-Neri) and Ian McLeod (South Africa).
McDonald was, as expected, very satisfied to head back to Australia with the red climber’s jersey. “It has been a long week, with lots of racing. There were little climbs to try to get a point here, get a point there,” he explained. “Yesterday I was a bit disappointed to miss out on a few opportunities leading up to the big climb [Genting Highlands]. I finished fourth up the big climb and to not actually have the jersey [was frustrating]….I needed one more point.
“Today worked out all right with the team. They did a good job to lead me out for the climb. They were very aggressive in the corners leading up to it, and that helped us to make the gap. I was able to get the sprint.”
Rujano said that the climb didn’t really suit him. “For me, really, the most important thing was to win the yellow jersey today,” he said. “I tried to do the sprint but in mountains that are only 100 metre high, it is not really for me. I couldn’t keep the polka-dot jersey but I keep the yellow…that is what I wanted.”
Back in the big time?
Rujano burst into prominence five years ago with excellent performances in the Tour de Langkawi and the Giro d’Italia. He was second at Genting and second overall in the former, while he took a stage, the King of the Mountains competition and third overall in the latter.
Since then, he hasn’t performed at the same level, but is confident that he is now fully back on track.
“This year, the rhythm of the race was pretty high as many riders were in good condition,” he said, when asked how he could compare the 2005 version with this one, which has less big-name teams. “The Asian riders are improving, they are getting better legs year after year.
“The race went very well for me. I am very happy with the condition I have now and I have two months to go to improve it for the Tour of Italy.”
Rujano will take two week’s rest, then ride the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali [March 23 – 27], the Settimana Ciclista Lombardia [March 31 – April 5], the Giro di Trentino [April 20] and the Giro del Appennino [April 25].
As a result of how things went in Malaysia, he said that he will head to Europe feeling a lot better about his chances. “This win is very important for me. It was important for my confidence, but also for my new team,” he said. “I am very happy that ISD picked me for this year, after some time outside Europe. I can see that the team has done a great job for me this week. This is also a good sign for the Giro d’Italia, which is the most important race for me this year.”
A new star is born:
Today was about Rujano, and Shaw, and McDonald, of course, but for the large crowd at the finish, it was mostly about the new Malaysian star, Anuar Manan. He took a stage win earlier this week and sealed his victory in the points classification today; while he was just fourth in the sprint, three places off his target of netting another win, he got a hero’s welcome from the very vocal crowd.
Humble and appreciative, Manan showed great speed and – even more importantly – a great fighting spirit in this race. His stage win was the first-ever by a Malaysian, and his victory in the points classification was the first by an Asian rider.
Together with race runner-up Hyo Suk Gong (Seoul Cycling), Thursday’s victor Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team), the team classification win by the Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling squad, and the general aggressive, competitive performance by riders from the continent, it was clear that Asian cycling has moved to a new level and no longer plays second-fiddle to European, American and Australian competitors.
“I got the green jersey, it is the best thing for me,” he said, when asked if this race had brought his best performance to date in cycling. “I won one stage and I took the green jersey too – I am very happy.”
Manan started the day eleven points clear of double stage winner Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-Skins), and didn’t have to worry too much today. Neither rider went for the intermediate sprints, which were won by Shaw, Christoff Van Heerden (South Africa) and Askari, and in the finishing gallop, he finished fourth to Matthews’ fourteenth place.
That saw him end the race a full 21 points clear, and highlighted his potential as a sprinter.
His goal is now to head overseas and do a lot more racing, improving his sprinting power and tactics. “I have a good team now to bring me up from the Asian level,” he said. “The next step is that I am going to Europe and will be doing some races there.
“We will go to France for around three months, racing and training there. Maybe it is good for me, will help me develop more. If I have many, many races, perhaps I can improve my sprint. Then I can reach the same level as the ProTour sprinters.”
He said that he’d also consider changing teams next season in order to have greater exposure to top-level races.
What’s clear is that Manan and the other Malaysian riders are developing at a strong rate. This is due in part to their riding of races like the Tour de Langkawi, and also because of the support they get from officials, coaches, the Sports Ministry, the Malaysian National Cycling Federation, as well as
the public itself.
The 15th edition of the LTdL this year is organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports with assistance from the Malaysian National Cycling Federation and has been granted hors category status by the International Cycling Union (UCI). The race comprises seven stages which are Kota Bharu - Kuala Berang which covers 174.5km, followed by Kuala Terengganu - Chukai (182.3km); Pekan - Mersing (145.6km); Mersing-Parit Sulong (163.5km); Muar - Port Dickson (111.5km) Putrajaya - Genting Highlands (102.8km) dan Kuala Kubu Baru - Dataran Merdeka (133.7km), with a total distance of 1013.9km. |
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发表于 2010-3-8 08:39
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