Russian Timofee wins opening stage in Tour d'Indonesia
Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 11/23/2008 7:23 PM
SWEET VICTORY: Russian Artemy Timofee of Indonesia's Polygon Sweet Nice Team crosses the line to secure the yellow jersey after winning the opening stage of the Speedy Tour d'Indonesia cycling race in Jakarta on Sunday. JP/ J. Adiguna
Russian Artemy Timofee of Indonesia's Polygon Sweet Nice Team donned the yellow jersey after winning the opening stage of the Speedy Tour d'Indonesia cycling race in Jakarta on Sunday.
Timofee clocked 1 hour 53 minutes and eight seconds in the 80 kilometer Criterium, in which the riders had to complete 20 laps of a four kilometer course, starting and finishing at the West Plaza of Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex in Senayan, Jakarta.
"We had a good draw today, which helped me and my team grab the lead," Timofee said after the medals ceremony.
"I found the air to be quite hot, especially over the first 10 laps. But, I was able to adapt well afterward and follow my team to the finish line," he added.
Timofee said he hoped he could continue his form in the second stage, a 133.2 kilometer race from Bandung to Cirebon.
"As I read in the race manual, there are a lot of inclines in the next stage, which will be an advantage for a climber like myself," he said.
Finishing second in Sunday's race was Australian Brad Hall of Tineli Collosi, who crossed the finish line in 1:53:12, just ahead of third-place finisher Indonesian Parno of the Customs Cycling Club.
Parno said he was surprised by his accomplishment.
"I'm actually a tracker, and I was supposed to make way for my partner Iwan Setiawan. But he had trouble with his ride while I was in a good position to battle forward with support from my team members," he said, adding that he had been hard pressed by Indonesian favorites Tonton Susanto and Sama'i during the race.
Anuar Manan of the Malaysian national team secured the green jersey for being the fastest sprinter, fulfilling predictions based on his good sprint performance in the 2006 event, the last time the race was held.
"I was the fastest sprinter at the last Tour d'Indonesia event in 2006. Hopefully, I can collect more points tomorrow (Monday)."
Timofee pocketed US$900 in prize money for claiming the stage, Hall received $400 and Parno $200. The Indonesian received an additional $125 and the red-and-white jersey for being the winner out of the local riders.
The 1,726.3 kilometer 12 stage Tour d'Indonesia, which runs from Jakarta to Bali, features 17 teams -- 10 local and seven international.
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