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TSG FIGHT BACK FOR MOHD SHAHRUL TO TAKE STAGE THREE AS YUSUP REMAINS
IN YELLOW
10 May 2012
 CHUPING
(10 May 2012) 每 Terengganu Cycling team (TSG) fought back for Mohd
Shahrul Mat Amin to win Stage Three of the Jelajah Malaysia 2012
as Yusup Abrekov of the Uzbekistan Suren team did enough to finish
in the yellow at Malaysia＊s hottest place, Chuping.
Following
yesterday＊s disappointing run where TSG failed to defend the yellow
jersey held by Shinichi Fukushima from the first day of the race,
the question on every one＊s mind is how will the Terengganu-based
team will react on the third day.
※The
plan was to attack but we were not sure how the others will react.
There were several attempts at the start but it did not take off,§
said Mohd Shahrul, who had also won Stage One of the Jelajah Malaysia
2010.
※It
was only after the two riders broke free (10km marker at Taman Mahsuri)
that we knew we had a chance to spice things up. Yesterday, we worked
hard to defend the yellow but it did not work out. So today we were
determined to take the stage.§
The
early breakaway attempts were all thwarted by the hardworking Uzbekistan
Suren team as they showed their desire to protect Yusup＊s position
in the yellow. It was only at Taman Mahsuri that Harrif Saleh (TSG)
and Nor Rizuan Zainal (Armed Forces) opened up a 20second lead over
the peloton.
The
two were soon caught by the chasing pack before another breakaway
saw five riders going off with Harrif being joined by Hari Fitrianto
(Polygon Sweet Nice), Joel Pearson (Genesys Wealth), Sergey Kuzmin
(Kazakhstan) and Kazu Mori (Aisan Cycling team).
The
group then became eight with Shinichi Fukushima (TSG), Volodymyr
Zagorodniy (Suren) and Tonton Susanto. But the gap did not last
long as they were soon gobbled up by the pack being powered by Uzbekistan
Suren.
Heading
into the first climb KOM 1 at Bukit Selambau, a new breakaway was
formed with Thomas Robinson (Genesys Wealth), Adiq Husainie Othman
(Malaysia Development), Shahrul Mat Amin (TSG) and Putra Perjuangan's
Agung Ali Shahbana as they carved out a 35 second gap before building
it to more than a minute.
※There
was no real danger today, so we were confident that we can still
protect it tomorrow,§ quipped current red jersey leader Dadi Suryadi
of Putra Perjuangan after the race.
Robinson
and Agung dropped off for Shahrul to take KOM 1 with Adiq coming
in second and from the head of the peloton a minute later, Suren's
Volodymyr Starchyk took third.
Shahrul
and Adiq then increased the gap to more than two minutes as they
approached the first intermediate sprint at 40.4km. Adiq took the
first sprint ahead of Shahrul to be followed by Kazu Mori (Aisan),
Starchyk (Suren) and Zagorodniy (Suren).
Adiq
also went on to take the second sprint at Guar Cempedak as Dani
Lesmana from Polygon Sweet Nice then gave chase. Into the city of
Alor Star, the trio of Adiq, Shahrul and Dani have opened up a lead
of more than five minutes.
Adiq,
who is wearing both the 100PLUS white jersey and also the green
jersey for the best sprinter, made a clean sweep of all the sprints
on the day to pick up a total of 56 points 每 18 points ahead of
Aisan＊s Mori.
※My
plan was to narrow the time gap in the GC (held by Yusup). I did
not want to take the risk today of going for the stage win,§ added
Adiq. ※There are still three stages to go and I think that I should
be able to finish in the top five this year.§
Into
the last 30km, Uzbeskistan Suren then stepped up a gear to close
in on the three riders in front. But the fight back came a tad too
late as Mohd Shahrul crossed the line first ahead of Dani and Adiq.
※My
team worked hard, very hard (to close the gap on the breakaway riders).
But it was not easy,§ added Yusup, who also holds the blue jersey
for the best ranked Asian rider.
Tomorrow＊s
Stage Four will be the shortest in this year＊s race 每 a 115.6km
ride from Kangar, Perlis to Sungai Petani in Kedah.
PODIUM RESULTS 每 Stage Three
Stage winner 每 Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Cycling team)
Yellow Jersey - Yusup Abrekov (Uzbekistan Suren Team)
Green jersey - Muhammad Adiq Husainie Othman (Malaysia Development)
Red jersey 每 Dadi Suryadi (Putra Perjuangan)
White jersey (Best Malaysian) - Muhammad Adiq Husainie Othman (Malaysia
Development)
Blue jersey (Best Asian) 每 Yusup Abrekov (Uzbekistan Suren Team) |
