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Iranian cyclists dominate 2015 race
Sho Hatsuyama of Japan won the final stage but a crop of Iranian cyclists was insurmountable from atop the final standings in the nine-stage Tour de Singkarak 2015 race, which ended its 1,151
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Iran rules the game: Iranian cyclists from the Pishgaman Giant team, Arvin Moazemi Godarzi (center, first place), Amir Zargari (left, second place) and Hossein Askari (third place) celebrate winning Tour de Singkarak 2015 in Padang, Sunday.(JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb) (center, first place), Amir Zargari (left, second place) and Hossein Askari (third place) celebrate winning Tour de Singkarak 2015 in Padang, Sunday.(JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb)
S
ho Hatsuyama of Japan won the final stage but a crop of Iranian cyclists was insurmountable from atop the final standings in the nine-stage Tour de Singkarak 2015 race, which ended its 1,151.5-kilometer route on Sunday.
Hatsuyama, from the Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team, won in two hours, 49 minutes and 52 seconds to beat Mehdi Sohrabi from Tabriz Petrochemical Team and Marcelo Felipe from Team 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines to second and third place in the ninth and final stage, which was thrown into chaos yet again as a result of poor coordination.
The race from Padang Panjang to Padang was meant to cover 148.5 kilometers but the distance had to be reduced by 12.5 kilometers because of a graduation ceremony at Andalas University in Padang.
The opening stage, which crossed 163 kilometers between Painan and Pariaman, also had to be canceled because of a glitch in marshalling procedures.
However, Iranian riders grouped in the Pishgaman Giant Team did not appear to be distracted during the tour, which featured 21 teams with 135 cyclists from 32 countries.
The Iranians dominated the race by winning the individual and team categories.
Iran rules the game: Iranian cyclists from the Pishgaman Giant team, Arvin Moazemi Godarzi (center, first place), Amir Zargari (left, second place) and Hossein Askari (third place) celebrate winning Tour de Singkarak 2015 in Padang, Sunday.(JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb)
Arvin Moazemi Godarzi not only won the yellow jersey as the best rider but also grabbed the polka-dot jersey as King of the Mountain.
Godarzi topped the standings with 29:40.52. His fellow team members finished in second and third place, with Amir Zargari coming in 3 minutes and 23 seconds later and Hossein Askari 4 minutes and 11 seconds behind.
Fellow Iranians Ahad Kazemi Sarai and Amir Kolahdozhagh, both from Tabriz, followed in fourth and fifth place.
Pishgaman topped the team classification with 89:5.49, followed by Tabriz with a gap of 9 minutes and 47 seconds and Bridgestone with a gap of 29 minutes and 25 seconds.
The green jersey recognizing the sprint winner went to Thomas Rabou of the Netherlands. The Attaque Team Gusto rider scored 18 points, just a point ahead of Hossein Askari in second place.
Meanwhile, Dadi Suryadi, with his time of 29:59.3, snatched the red-and-white jersey as Indonesia's best rider as well as the orange jersey as the best ASEAN rider.
The tour encompassed 18 cities and towns in West Sumatra in its nine stages. The chaos during the opening and closing stages took the distance from an initial 1,327 kilometers to 1,151.5.
Despite the glitch, tour chairman Sapta Nirwandar expressed his relief, saying that the haze could have thrown the race into an even worse situation.
