GA_googleAddSlot("ca-pub-1197233282945943", "Star_Sports_Skyscraper");

Sports

Tuesday February 10, 2009

Cycling: Defending champs issue early warning by winning first stage

SEREMBAN: Defen­ding cham­pions Diquigiovanni-Androni issued an early war­ning of their hunger for honours in this year’s Tour of Langkawi (LTdL) when Mattia Gavazzi won the opening stage here yesterday.

Finishing in a mass bunch, the Italian-born rider clocked 3’06:42 to win the 133.8km race, which began at Putrajaya and ended in Senawang, near here.

“It was an unexpected result, but all went well as the team showed great team work,” Gavazzi said after the race.

The sprint specialist said the victory had given him the confidence to go for more glory in today’s Stage Two from Senawang to Malacca, covering a distance of 160.9km.

Italian stallion: Diquigiovanni-Androni rider Mattia Gavazzi (centre) posing with two local beauties after winning the LTdL opening stage and (below) sprinting to the finish line yesterday. — Bernama

The victory was the second this year for the 25-year-old, who won one stage of the Tour of San Jose in Argentina two weeks ago.

As for the LTdL, yesterday’s win also sees Gavazzi taking the yellow jersey to lead in individual classification and sprint jersey (green jersey) after collecting 15 points.

Dmitriy Gruzdev of the Kazakhstan national team captured the blue jersey for Asian riders while local rider Mohd Akmal Amrun of MNCF (Malaysian National Cycling Federation) came in second in 3’06:35.

“This is my first foray into the LTdL and my performance today has given me a big boost to tackle the second stage,” said 22-year-old Akmal, who also managed to secure nine points to finish in ninth place in the sprint category.

Two other national team riders — Ahmad Haidar Anuawar and Anuar Manan — also did well yesterday, finishing seventh and 10th respectively in the individual classification.

Meanwhile Jaco Venter, from the South African national team, collected four points for the red jersey as the King of the Mountain. — Bernama

PUTRAJAYA-SENAWANG (133.8km)

Top 10: 1. Mattia Gavazzi (Diquigiovanni-Androni) 3’ 06: 42, 2. Chris Sutton (Garmin Slipstream) 3’06:42, 3. Nolan Hoffman (Rsa) 3’06:42, 4. Tiziano Dall Antonia (CSF Group Navigare) 3’06:42, 5. Hossein Nateghi (Irn) 3’06:42, 6. Daniel Musiol (Vorarlberg-Corratec) 3’06:42, 7. Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Mas) 3’06:42, 8. Rafaa Chtioui (Doha) 3’06:42, 9. Miyataka Shimizu (EQA-Meitan-Hompo) 3’06:42, 10. Anuar Manan (Mas) 3’06:42.

Overall standings: 1. Mattia Gavazzi (Diquigiovanni-Androni) 3’06:32, 2. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) 3secs behind, 3. Chris Sutton (Garmin Slipstream), 4. Jaco Venter (Rsa) both 4secs behind, 5. Mohd Akmal Amrun (MNCF) 5, 6. Nolan Hoffman (Rsa) 6, 7. Tiziano Dall’ Antonio (CSF Group Navigare), 8. Hossien Nateghi (Irn), 9. Daniel Musiol (Vorarlberg-Corratec), 10. Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Mas) all 10.

Top 10 Asian riders overall: 1. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) 3’06:35, 2. Mohd Akmal Amrun (MNCF) 3’06:37, 3. Hossien Nateghi (Irn) 3’06:42, 4. Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Mas) 3’06:42, 5. Miyataka Shimuzi (Meitan-Hompo) 3’06:42, 6. Anuar Manan (Mas) 3’06:42, 7. Yukiya Arashiro (BBox Bouygues Telecom) 3’06:42, 8. Ji Xitao (Chn) 3’06:42, 9. Zhang Wenlong (Chn) 3’06:42, 10. Hui Guo (Chn) 3’06:42.

Top 10 teams overall: 1. South Africa 9’20:06, 2. Malaysia 9’20:06, 3. China 9’20:06, 4. ISD 9’20:06, 5. Cervelo Test Team 9’20:06, 6. Iran 9’20:06, 7. Garmin Slipstream 9’20:06, 8. Fuji Servetto 9’20:06, 9. Doha 9’20:06, 10. AG2R 9’20:06.

Asian teams overall: 1. Malaysia 9’20:06, 2. China 9’20:06, 3. Iran 9’20:06, 4. Doha 9’20:06, 5. MNCF 9’20:06, 6. EQA-Meitan Hompo 9’20:06, 7. Le Tua 9’20:06, 8. Seoul Cycling 9’20:06, 9. Kazakhstan 9’20:06. — Bernama

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story

Sports Poll