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RUJANO
SEIZES TOUGHEST STAGE AND YELLOW JERSEY; MANAN LOOKING GOOD
FOR GREEN
06/03/2010
GENTING
HIGHLANDS - Five years after he finished second on the climb
en route to second overall in the race, José Rujano
went one better today on the torturous slopes of Genting Highlands.
The
ISD Neri rider dropped all of the other riders on the mountain,
regarded as one of the toughest in cycling, and reached the
line two minutes and nine seconds clear of the next finisher,
Gong Hyo Suk (Seoul Cycling).
The
commanding performance saw him seize the yellow jersey and
with a buffer of over two minutes to Gong Hyo Suk, he looks
poised for overall victory tomorrow.
“My
team did perfect work to prepare the terrain for me,”
he said after the stage. “I was a bit scared in the
last three kilometres as I had a hunger flat, but I managed
to maintain my rhythm. I hope tomorrow that we can control
the race again and that I can win Le Tour de Langkawi, as
expected.”
Rujano
was one of the stars of the race in 2005, but was edged out
for Genting stage success and the final overall victory by
South Africa’s Ryan Cox. The Venezuelan climber went
on to record a superb Giro d’Italia that year, winning
a stage, placing third overall and also taking the King of
the Mountains jersey.
Since
then, he has never quite matched the same form, but showed
flashes of excellence last season in winning the Vuelta a
Columbia and Vuelta a Venezuela. More recently, he took the
Vuelta al Táchira, confirming that he has got his career
back on track.
While
those South American races don’t have the same standard
field as European races, nor the same prestige, he said that
winning there is no easy task. “Genting is a very hard
climb. To compare things with Columbia, though, if you have
a 15 day race, you have ten climbs like that. It is more complicated
for me to win the races in South America.” The implication
was that he may have spent 2009 with a small Venezuelan team,
but that he was still racing at a good level while in their
colours.
Racing
towards a resolution:
The
102.8 kilometre stage started in Putrajaya, headquarters of
the Malaysian government, and saw Rujano’s ISD team
control things from the start. It wanted to ensure that none
of his rivals got a significant advantage before the final
climb.
There
were a large number of early attempts to go clear, including
efforts from several Malaysian riders, plus the yellow jersey
wearer Tobias Erler (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling). None of
these got very far, but an effort by Christopher Jennings
(South Africa National Team) and Vidal Celis (Footon-Servetto)
did see the duo steal the first two places in the intermediate
sprint at Kajang.
Points
leader Anuar Manan (Geumsan Ginseng Asia) added two points
to his total when he took third.
Vorarlberg
Corratec rider Silvere Ackermann was the most successful today
as regards primes; he attacked on the third category climb
of Bukit Indah, taking top points at the summit (km 36.5),
and also won the bonus sprints at Ampang (km 45.8) and Gomback
(km 59.3).
King
of the Mountains leader Peter McDonald went for second place
on Bukit Indah, but was beaten by Zainal Rizuan (Malaysia);
this would prove crucial by the end of the stage, as it would
cost him his King of the Mountains jersey.
Ackermann
was eventually hauled back 61 kilometres after the start,
and things stayed more or less together until the start of
the Genting Highlands climb. Manan and Erler were two of those
who came under pressure and dropped back; Rujano was feeling
good, and he turned the screw sixteen kilometres from the
end.
He
initially got clear with McDonald (Drapac Porsche Cycling),
Ghader Mizbani (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling), Hossein Askari
(Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling), Gong Hyo Suk (Seoul Cycling)
and Amir Zargari (Azad University Iran), but dropped all bar
Askari soon afterwards.
The
Iranian held on for another three kilometres, then he too
cracked and slipped back. Rujano continued to gain time and
finished far ahead of the next riders, taking the stage win,
the yellow jersey and the King of the Mountains lead.
McDonald
was disappointed to lose out on the distinctive red jersey
he had held since day two. “I need one more point. I
am equal, apparently,” he said right after the finish.
“It is a bit disappointing because I missed a few opportunities
out the road. Anyway, I have a few more chances tomorrow.
There are two climbs and while I don’t want to think
about it [more climbing] right now, I will have to go for
it.”
More
Asian success:
After
a very successful week for Asian riders, more good news was
in store today. Korean rider Gong Hyo Suk took an unexpected
second place on the stage, showing great climbing form, and
moved into the lead of the best Asian classification. Askari
is 35 seconds back but with tomorrow’s stage being mainly
flat, it is very difficult to envisage the blue jersey changing
hands once again.
Anuar
Manan had been at the top of that ranking but knew that Genting
would be very difficult for a sprint specialist. He was not
too worried, though, taking great satisfaction from the fact
that he is a day – and two points – closer to
victory in the green jersey competition.
He
started the day with a nine point lead over his closest rival
Michael Matthews. The Jayco-Skins rider needed to make inroads
into Manan’s lead to help his chances of seizing back
the jersey tomorrow, but failed to clock up any points today.
That makes it mathematically difficult for him to make up
the deficit now.
Manan
is feeling good about his chances, and is focussing more on
another aim tomorrow. “I am not worried about the green
jersey now, I am confident,” he said. “I will
try to win one more stage on the last day. There are many
advantages for a sprinter like me, and I will try my best
tomorrow.”
If
he is to be challenged, his rival will need to pick up sufficient
points in the intermediate sprints, then beat him at the finish.
Manan would prefer not to have to make big efforts until the
end of the race, and so he said that he would monitor the
Australian to see what he will do.
“Tomorrow
I will be just watching Matthew. If Matthew wants to fight
to get points, I will take points also. I know that if he
gets points, he will be very close to me. I will [otherwise]
try to save energy. I will try to win the stage tomorrow.
The
final stage of the 2010 Tour de Langkawi begins in Kuala Kubu
and runs 133.7 kilometres. It ends with six laps of a 6.5
kilometre circuit in downtown Kuala Lumpur where, seven days
after the race start in Kota Bharu, this year’s champions
will finally be crowned.
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End
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