Zargari in control at Tour de Singkarak

Tour de Singkarak series by singkarak.blogspot.com


Amir Zargari of the Azad University cycling team from Iran won stage 5 of the 2011 Tour de Singkarak on Friday, cementing his team’s unbeaten form so far.

Zargari, a climbing specialist, has worn the yellow jersey since Tuesday’s stage 2 and repeated his achievement this year following victory last year.

Zargari finished the stage in 1 hour 50 minutes and 35 seconds, ahead of compatriots Rahim Emami and Golakhour Porseyedi, despite a little confusion in the home stretch.

The 79-kilometer stage 5 wound its way through hills and the Ombilin River, with the 107 riders starting in Payakumbuh.

The top three riders controlled the peloton from the beginning before eventually building a lead.

A few meters before the finish line, lead rider Zargari took a wrong turn onto a route designated for race official and team cars.

However, he managed to return to the right path while maintaining a 4-second lead over second-place Emami.

“It was not a problem at all because I’ve was leading and my previous time gap was about 40 seconds,” Zargari said at a press conference after the race at Taman Segitiga in Sawahlunto regency.

Emami was the fastest in the 73.5-kilometer king of the mountain section, but Zargari maintains the polka-dot jersey with a total of 27 points.

South Korean Jang Chan-jae of Trengganu Pro Asia cycling team from Malaysia retained his green jersey as the fastest sprinter in the 48.8-kilometer intermediate sprint.

Racing in the Singkarak tour for the first time, the 22 year old said he did not have significant problems during the race.

“I push myself to the limit,” Jang said, adding that he was aiming for the winner’s green jersey by the end of the race.

In the Indonesian individual classification, Robin Manulang of Prima Utama finished sixth in the stage, 32 seconds behind.

The red-and-white jersey, however, remains with Agung Alisyahbana from the national team with an overall time of 10:19:55.

On Saturday, the tour enters stages 6A (94.6 kilometers from Sawahlunto to Basa Pagaruyung Palace) and 6B (39 kilometers from Basa Pagaruyung Palace to Padang Panjang).

The week-long US$75,000 race is scheduled to end in Singkarak Lake on Sunday.

Source:
Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Sawahlunto, West Sumatra | Sat, 06/11/2011 10:11 PM A | A | A |