Matthews tops in Mersing
04/03/2010, THE STAR

MERSING: Australian Michael Matthews (pic) of Jayco-Skins took the third stage of the Tour of Langkawi (LTdL), which ended here yesterday.

Matthews clocked 3’16:27 in a mass-finish here after the 145.6km race had been flagged off in Pekan, Pahang.

“I was really confident of achieving something today. I tried to stay ahead of the others. After winning the first stage two days ago, the burden was less as I could just concentrate on today’s stage,” he said yesterday.

The 20-year-old Australian said winning a stage also meant that he had added 15 points in the sprint competitions (green jersey).

“Although I won in the mass bunch, I’m not the fastest cyclist in this year’s LTdL and I will have to get good teamwork and support from my team-mates. It’s still a long journey,” he said.

Alex Candelario of Kelly Benefit Strategies finished second, ahead of ISD-Neri’s Dmytro Grabovskyy.

Tobias Erler of Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling retained the yellow jersey as the overall leader with a total time of 11’46:02.

Meanwhile, local sensation Anuar Manan, representing Geumsan Ginseng Asia, continued his spectacular form by retaining the green jersey (sprint king) and blue jersey as the best Asian rider for three consecutive stages.

“My strategy was to collect as many points in the third stage to retain the green jersey and it worked. Retaining the blue jersey is a bonus for me,” said Anuar, who finished fourth yesterday.

He was wary of Matthews who was just three points adrift in the tussle for the green jersey.

The 24-year-old Terengganu-born Anuar, who hoped to clinch a ride with a Pro Tour team, said the LTdL was a good platform to signal his intent.

“I want to equip myself with a good resume by getting a good result in the LTdL,” he said.

Today’s 163.5km fourth stage will be from Mersing to Parit Sulong in Muar.

<< Back to Main