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RUJANO
WINS TOUR DE LANGKAWI, MANAN SCOOPS GREEN JERSEY, SHAW TAKES
FINAL STAGE
07/03/2010
Enjoying
a relatively stress free day due to his team’s control
of the race, Venezuelan rider Jose Rujano today won the Tour
de Langkawi and showed that he is back to his best form.
The
28 year old finished safely in the main bunch at the end of
the 133.7 kilometre final stage from Kuala Kubu Baru to Dataran
Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Close marking by his ISD-Neri team
meant that his closest competitors were unable to get clear,
with the only serious move being one involving Ghader Misbani
(Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling).
The
Iranian started the day five minutes and 12 seconds behind
Rujano, but a 52 kilometre breakaway move only saw his group
gain one minute 45 seconds. These riders were hauled back
on the finishing circuits in Kuala Lumpur, as were a couple
of subsequent breaks.
The
final stage victory went to the Australian Stuart Shaw (Drapac-Porsche),
who showed strong form despite a disruption to his training
and racing recently. He was delighted with his win, especially
as he had come to Malaysia expecting to perform domestique
(team helper) duties.
“I
just had my appendix out and had surgery. I had three months
off my bike and this is my first race in five months,”
he said. “The team sent me here, which was nice, to
come and help Peter [McDonald] win the King of the Mountain
and to help Adiq Othman.
“I
just came here to help the team and every day I got a little
bit stronger. Today I felt good near the sprint. So I had
a bit of a go. It was a nice result.”
McDonald
had started the day level on points with Rujano in the King
of the Mountains competition but, thanks to the latter’s
first place on yesterday’s hors categorie climb up to
Genting Highlands, he was awarded the jersey.
McDonald
knew he had to beat him by at least one point to secure victory
in the classification, and had strong team support in the
first KOM prime at Batu Arang (km 41.3). He was first to the
top, with his team-mate David Pell second and Rujano only
third.
Neither
of them disputed the final KOM climb in this year’s
race, Batu Arang (km 50.6), which went to Irishman David McCann
(Giant Asia) ahead of Dmytro Grabovskyy(ISD-Neri) and Ian
McLeod (South Africa).
McDonald
was, as expected, very satisfied to head back to Australia
with the red climber’s jersey. “It has been a
long week, with lots of racing. There were little climbs to
try to get a point here, get a point there,” he explained.
“Yesterday I was a bit disappointed to miss out on a
few opportunities leading up to the big climb [Genting Highlands].
I finished fourth up the big climb and to not actually have
the jersey [was frustrating]….I needed one more point.
“Today
worked out all right with the team. They did a good job to
lead me out for the climb. They were very aggressive in the
corners leading up to it, and that helped us to make the gap.
I was able to get the sprint.”
Rujano
said that the climb didn’t really suit him. “For
me, really, the most important thing was to win the yellow
jersey today,” he said. “I tried to do the sprint
but in mountains that are only 100 metre high, it is not really
for me. I couldn’t keep the polka-dot jersey but I keep
the yellow…that is what I wanted.”
Back
in the big time?
Rujano
burst into prominence five years ago with excellent performances
in the Tour de Langkawi and the Giro d’Italia. He was
second at Genting and second overall in the former, while
he took a stage, the King of the Mountains competition and
third overall in the latter.
Since
then, he hasn’t performed at the same level, but is
confident that he is now fully back on track.
“This
year, the rhythm of the race was pretty high as many riders
were in good condition,” he said, when asked how he
could compare the 2005 version with this one, which has less
big-name teams. “The Asian riders are improving, they
are getting better legs year after year.
“The
race went very well for me. I am very happy with the condition
I have now and I have two months to go to improve it for the
Tour of Italy.”
Rujano
will take two week’s rest, then ride the Settimana Internazionale
di Coppi e Bartali [March 23 – 27], the Settimana Ciclista
Lombardia [March 31 – April 5], the Giro di Trentino
[April 20] and the Giro del Appennino [April 25].
As
a result of how things went in Malaysia, he said that he will
head to Europe feeling a lot better about his chances. “This
win is very important for me. It was important for my confidence,
but also for my new team,” he said. “I am very
happy that ISD picked me for this year, after some time outside
Europe. I can see that the team has done a great job for me
this week. This is also a good sign for the Giro d’Italia,
which is the most important race for me this year.”
A
new star is born:
Today
was about Rujano, and Shaw, and McDonald, of course, but for
the large crowd at the finish, it was mostly about the new
Malaysian star, Anuar Manan. He took a stage win earlier this
week and sealed his victory in the points classification today;
while he was just fourth in the sprint, three places off his
target of netting another win, he got a hero’s welcome
from the very vocal crowd.
Humble
and appreciative, Manan showed great speed and – even
more importantly – a great fighting spirit in this race.
His stage win was the first-ever by a Malaysian, and his victory
in the points classification was the first by an Asian rider.
Together
with race runner-up Hyo Suk Gong (Seoul Cycling), Thursday’s
victor Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team), the team classification
win by the Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling squad, and the general
aggressive, competitive performance by riders from the continent,
it was clear that Asian cycling has moved to a new level and
no longer plays second-fiddle to European, American and Australian
competitors.
“I
got the green jersey, it is the best thing for me,”
he said, when asked if this race had brought his best performance
to date in cycling. “I won one stage and I took the
green jersey too – I am very happy.”
Manan
started the day eleven points clear of double stage winner
Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-Skins), and didn’t have
to worry too much today. Neither rider went for the intermediate
sprints, which were won by Shaw, Christoff Van Heerden (South
Africa) and Askari, and in the finishing gallop, he finished
fourth to Matthews’ fourteenth place.
That
saw him end the race a full 21 points clear, and highlighted
his potential as a sprinter.
His
goal is now to head overseas and do a lot more racing, improving
his sprinting power and tactics. “I have a good team
now to bring me up from the Asian level,” he said. “The
next step is that I am going to Europe and will be doing some
races there.
“We
will go to France for around three months, racing and training
there. Maybe it is good for me, will help me develop more.
If I have many, many races, perhaps I can improve my sprint.
Then I can reach the same level as the ProTour sprinters.”
He
said that he’d also consider changing teams next season
in order to have greater exposure to top-level races.
What’s
clear is that Manan and the other Malaysian riders are developing
at a strong rate. This is due in part to their riding of races
like the Tour de Langkawi, and also because of the support
they get from officials, coaches, the Sports Ministry, the
Malaysian National Cycling Federation, as well as the public
itself.
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