Tour de Singkarak Schedule Change to Draw Top Riders

Riders participating in the Tour de Singkarak last week. The annual event will take place in September next year. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

The organizers of the Tour de Singkarak have decided to move the annual cycle race in West Sumatra from its traditional June slot, to September from next year, in order to attract more top teams and riders.

Sapta Nirwandar, initiator and executive chairman of the event, said the decision was taken to avoid clashing with the calendar of the International Cycling Union (UCI) next year.

According to the this year’s calendar, there are three other events in Asia in June beside the Tour de Singkarak. They are the  Tour de Kumano (May 29-June 1), the Tour de Korea (June 8-15), and the Tour de Iran (June 17-22).

“Tour de Singkarak has been receiving better global recognition and we want to see as many top riders as we can to take part in the event. It is just unfortunate the race is held too close to the other events. That’s why we decided to move it to September,” Sapta told reporters during the closing ceremony on Sunday.

This year’s schedule saw the Tour de Singkarak and the Tour de Korea held at the same time where Australia’s Avanti Racing Team sent two teams. The team’s sprinter Brenton Jones clinched a place on the Tour de Singkarak podium twice during the nine-day race, which took place from June 7-16.

The decision, however, brings another concern to the race as the rainy season starts in most part of Indonesia in September. But it’s unlikely to prevent riders from taking part in the tour.

Two-time champion Amir Zargari of Iran promised to return to West Sumatra with his team next year.

“I will come no matter what,” said the Iranian who claimed his second title in the weekend and helped his team Pishgaman Yazd won the team classification. “[To win this year] was our team goal to be here in the Tour de Singkarak because we had a good experience. It is my fourth time to be in Singkarak. I won in 2011. I know almost all of the routes and stages.”

The Iranian riders, including Zargari, were in a rush to leave as soon as possible after the awards ceremony of the last stage because they had to catch the flight back to Iran. They only had one day off before the start of the Tour de Iran.

The 2012 champion Oscar Pujol Munoz said he also would not mind following the organizers’ decision.

“I will still come,” said Munoz, who rode with SkyDive Dubai Pro Cycling Team and clinched the fifth-stage podium this year.

The decision, he added, would help to attract top riders to compete in the tour. SkyDive sent two different teams to the Singkarak and Iran events.

Local rider Dadi Suryadi also expressed his appreciation of the decision, saying the rainy season would not be a big problem for participating riders.

“Our biggest concern is the transfer from city to city that took too long. It was really exhausting. We also hope organizers would accommodate us in proper hotels, just like in Sawahlunto,” he said.

By Ami Afriatni on 08:31 pm Jun 17, 2014

Jones Secures Tour de Singkarak’s Stage 7

Cyclists from all over the globe make their way through Tour de Singkarak's seventh stage on Friday. (JG PhotoAfriadi Hikmal)

Dharmasraya. Cris Joven of Team 7-Eleven reclaimed the green jersey from Iranian Arvin Moazemi Godarzi of Pishgaman Yazd, while Brenton Jones of Avanti Racing Team won stage seven of Tour de Singkarak on Friday.

Jones made final a sprint to reach the finish line in front of the peloton in four hours two seconds, while Mehdi Sohrabi of Tabriz Petrochemical and Mark Julius Bordeos of Team 7-Eleven came in second and third place respectively.

This seventh stage presents the longest track of the race, stretching 167.5 kilometers between Sijunjung and Dharmasraya
districts and featuring mostly flat roads, which give sprinters like Joven a huge advantage.

Joven made an attack immediately after the rolling start in Sijunjung’s  Silokek canyon, leading four other riders, including Matnur of Pegaus Continental Team. 

Iman Suparman, of Indonesia’s national team, tried to catch up, but dropped back to join the big group led by yellow-jersey holder, Amir Zargari of Iran’s Pishgaman Yazd team.

Leading cyclists were still neck-to-neck as they approached the only climb of the day, in the Gunung Puding area, located  around 30 kilometers from the starting line. The uphill challenge proved too much for Matnur, who fell behind and eased back into the peloton.

The four riders continued their lead, with Joven dominating the first sprint point — in front of the Pulau Punjung district
office — as well as the second sprint point in front of Koto Baru market.

He surprised both participants and spectators when rocketed through the final sprint point, in front of Gunung Medan market, which was a mere 15 km from the finish line.

“The [seventh] stage is important to me. I made a successful breakaway. Unfortunately, in the last 3 kilometers, I lost my power,” Joven said.

As the race entered its final phase, the peloton increased its pace to catch up with the leading group. 

Unfortunately, Zargari found himself struggling with a mechanical failure that  placed a 200-meter gap between him and the other cyclists. Thankfully, his team managed to fix the problem, allowing him  to get back in the game.

Meanwhile, the peleton was fast approaching the four leading cyclists, riding close to one another along the flat track. However, a slight miscalculation lead to a collision between several participants, bringing them crashing down and out of the running.

As Joven ran out his energy, Jones, who was in the peloton for the most of the stage, made his move for a final sprint and won the race.

“Today our strategy was to get it back from a bunch of sprints. The boys did really well. Together we all made it  to the sprint. It was a great teamwork,” Jones said.

With a comfortable lead in the individual and general team classifications, Pishgaman Yazd team didn’t make any move in the stage, giving other riders a chance to finish in the top 10. 

Zargari remains on top of general classification with a total time of 21:23:18 to keep the yellow jersey, while teammate Ramin Mehrbaniazar leads the mountain competition with 26 points. 

Dadi Suryadi of Pegasus retains the red-white jersey as the fastest Southeast Asian rider, followed by Bambang Suryadi of Indonesia National Team and Boots Ryan Cayubit of Team 7-Eleven.

By Ami Afriatni on 12:58 pm Jun 15, 2014

Munoz Breaks Iranian Grip

Cyclists in the Tour de Singkarak pass by workers laying out crackers to dry in the sun in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra, on Wednesday. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

Solok, West Sumatra. Oscar Pujol Munoz of Sky Dive Dubai Team finally notched up his first stage win of the Tour de Singkarak on Wednesday, with the 2012 champion claiming Stage 5 of this year’s cycling race, from Payakumbuh to Lake Singkarak.
The Spanish rider won the final sprint to the finish against Hari Fitriyanto of the Indonesia National Team and Edgar Nohales Nieto of Team 7-Eleven, in a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 42 seconds over the 102-kilometer stage.

“I finally made it after failing yesterday. I just want to enjoy the day, my victory. I don’t want to think about tomorrow’s race,” Munoz said, referring to Stage 4 on Tuesday, when he was caught and passed by Rahim Emami of the Pishgaman Yazd team just before the finish line.

“I just took the advantage of the other riders’ not being in top condition today,” he added.

With only two sprints and one climb in Wednesday’s stage, teams applied an offensive strategy, with riders making an early attack just after the rolling start.

Yousif Mohamed Alhamadi, from the UAE Cycling Federation team, took first sprint, followed by Mehdi Sorabi of Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical and Jamalidin Novardianto of Indonesia’s Pegasus Continental team.

As the race headed to the hills, Hari made his move, taking the climbing points, followed by Sajjad Sabouri of Tabriz Petrochemical and Hamid Pourhashemi of Tabriz Shahrdari Ranking.

Right after the climb, Munoz made an attack and caught the leading group. With 30 kilometers to go, Munoz, Nieto and Hari had a commanding lead over the field.

The peloton managed to cut its time gap to 36 seconds with three kilometers to go. But the leading group managed to keep its distance and Munoz sprinted his way to his first stage win of the competition.

The result still leaves Munoz in eight place on the overall standings, 7:45 behind race leader Amir Zargari of Pishgaman Yazd, who has a combined time of 14:43:48.

“It’s a flat route. Too many attacks as I have predicted. But I’m glad I still can keep the yellow jersey,” Zargari said.

Dadi Suryadi keeps his red-and-white jersey for the leading local rider, while Cris Joven of Team 7-Eleven retains his green jersey for points.

Ramin Mehrbaniazar of Pishgaman Yazd keeps the polka-dot jersey as king of the mountain. Pishgaman Yazd leads the team standings.

Stage 6 today will cover 111 kilometers from Padang Panjang to Solok.

By Ami Afriatni on 08:52 pm Jun 11, 2014

Iranian Riders Dominate Tour de Singkarak 4th Stage

Cyclists struggle up the infamous Kelok 44 road on Stage 4 of the Tour de Singkarak cycling race in West Sumatra. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

Agam, West Sumatra. Iran’s Pishgaman Yazd team stamped its domination in the Tour de Singkarak cycling race on Tuesday after making a clean sweep in stage four from Bukit Tinggi to Agam, which covers 165 kilometers.

Rahim Emami of Iran won the stage with a total time of 4:28:15, crossing the finish line 16 seconds faster than teammate and current general classification leader Amir Zargari, while stage three winner Ramin Mehrbaniazar trailed by 29 seconds, placing him in third.

Three non-Iranian riders managed to make into the top 10, including sixth-placed Australian Matthew Clark of Avanti Racing Team, Bambang Suryadi of Indonesia’s National team and Oscar Pujol Munoz of Skydive Dubai, who came in eighth and ninth respectively.

Riders were pushed to their limits on a grueling day that took in Kelok 44, a winding uphill climb before the finish line, famously named after the stretch of road’s 44 hairpin turns.

Immediately after the rolling start, Munoz and Mark Galedo of the Philippines’  Team 7-Eleven made a breakaway, followed by Sajjad Sabouri of Tabriz Petrochemical and Saeid Safarzadeh of Tabriz Shahrdari Ranking. The lead was short-lived, however, as the rest of the peloton caught up in just few minutes.

Five riders made another breakaway attempt just before the first climb point, during which Junrey Navarra secured the first king of the mountain points, followed by Endra Wijaya of Custom Cycling Club and Soufiane Haddi of Skydive Dubai.

More riders made a break to chase the leading group five kilometers before first the sprint point. Cris Joven of Team 7-Eleven grabbed the first sprint point and managed to retain his position in second and third sprint. Meanwhile, riders from Pishgaman stayed in the peloton as part of their strategy, leaving the leading group to take their second climb.

With the third and dreaded Kelok 44 looming close ahead, more riders made an attack. Galedo managed to pull ahead of the leading group with a 1:45 time gap, but as the climb grew tougher the trailing riders to cut its time deficit and Munoz took over in first position.

Strong in the climb, Pishgaman riders started to make their move with Munoz in the lead, followed by Emami and the rest of his teammates. With only three kilometers to go, Emami mounted a challenge on Munoz, and passed him with one kilometer before the finish. Zargari also managed to pull away to maintain his time advantage.

Zargari retained his yellow jersey as the race’s general classification leader, while Mehrbaniazar secured the polka-dot jersey as king of the mountain. Joven took home the green jersey from last year’s owner Arvin Godarzi and  Dadi Suryadi of Pegasus Continental Team retained the red-white jersey by dominating the Southeast Asian rider category.

Tour de Singkarak continues with stage five from Payakumbuh to Lake Singkarak, covering 102 kilometers, on Wednesday.

By Wimbo Satwiko on 06:57 pm Jun 10, 2014