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KFC Jakarta beats bumpy road to lead Tour de Central Celebes
Leg day: Cyclists climb a hilly route during Stage 2 of a 133
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span class="inline inline-center">Leg day: Cyclists climb a hilly route during Stage 2 of a 133.4-km track from Poso to Parigi in the 2017 Tour de Central Celebes in Central Sulawesi on Tuesday.(JP/Ruslan Sangadji)
The KFC Jakarta cycling team dominated the 2017 Tour de Central Celebes in the second day of the road race as it maintained its lead in the 133.4-kilometer second stage from Poso to Perigi in Central Sulawesi on Tuesday.
The 487-km tour covers the districts of Tojo Unauna, Poso, Parigi Moutong, Sigi and the city of Palu on its route. Sixty-nine participants from 18 countries — including Canada, South Korea and Kuwait — are taking part in the event, which runs from Monday to Wednesday.
On Monday, KFC Jakarta sealed the first, 191.5-km, stage from Ampana to Tentena when Jamal Hibatullah won in 4 hours and 15 minutes
In Tuesday’s stage, KFC’s Abdul Gani wrapped up as winner after clocking in at 3 hours, 19 minutes and 52 seconds.
Abdul said he and his teammates had to go the extra mile as they were challenged by bumpy roads along the route.
“Today, there were a good number of our fellow cyclists who had flat tires, fell off their bikes and faced various problems because of the poor road conditions,” said Abdul after the race.
Jamal said “the road is so bumpy,” adding that they passed through some slippery spots as the road was quite sandy.
Abdul and Jamal said they both agreed that the poor road conditions hampered most participants in putting in their best performances.
The organizers said Jamal hit the finish line along with George Luis Oconer of Go for Gold and Projo Waseso of CCN Jakarta. At the end of the day, the organizers named Jamal as the first finisher, followed by Oconer and Projo.
“Each of the top-three finishers of the day respectively received [cash bonuses of] Rp 18 million [US$ 1,330], Rp 9 million and Rp 5 million,” said Ardiansyah Lamasitudju, head of the Central Sulawesi Tourism Agency, after the race.
With the win, Gani grabbed the red-and-white jersey, the fastest cyclist in the Indonesian category, from Jamal. However, the 21-year-old Jamal still holds the yellow jersey (overall fastest cyclist) and the green jersey (fastest sprinter) that he earned in the first stage.
Meanwhile, the King of the Mountain title, or the fastest climber, went to the Philippines’ Jonel Carcueva of Go for Gold.
On Wednesday, the participants will have their final stage of 149.3 km from Sigi to Palu.
The Tour of Central Celebes is currently registered as an International Cyclist Federation event. However, the organizers said they planned to get it listed on the calendar of world body Union Cyclist Internasionale (UCI) Race Point by next year, as it allows participants to collect points for their world rankings.
