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.

The 15th edition of the LTdL this year is organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports with assistance from the Malaysian National Cycling Federation and has been granted hors category status by the International Cycling Union (UCI). The race comprises seven stages which are Kota Bharu - Kuala Berang which covers 174.5km, followed by Kuala Terengganu - Chukai (182.3km); Pekan - Mersing (145.6km); Mersing-Parit Sulong (163.5km); Muar - Port Dickson (111.5km) Putrajaya - Genting Highlands (102.8km) dan Kuala Kubu Baru - Dataran Merdeka (133.7km), with a total distance of 1013.9km.

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