Iranian rider Amir Zargari wins second stage 2011 Tour of Singkarak: Cycling News
Amir Zargari of the Azad University team won the second stage of 2011 Tour of Singkarak on Tuesday, June 7. He also took an overall race leader’s yellow jersey.
The race started in Padang and ended in Pariaman. The 30-year-old Iranian took a total of 2 hours, 20 minutes and 3 seconds to cover a distance of 105 kilometres.
His team-mate, Rahim Emami, was in second place with the same timing of Amir. Logan Calder of Plan B Racing finished third with the difference of 1 minute and 10 seconds.
Previously, Amir won the second stage of Jelajah Malaysia, Ipoh in 2009 and also took an overall second spot in Tour d’Indonesia in 2008.
After winning the stage, Amir Zargari told the media, “That was a tough race, the roads were mostly flat so everyone was pedaling fast and we saw the race leader change several times. But in the last 15 kilometers, I managed to go faster and broke away from
the big peloton to win the race.”
Agung Alisyahbana of Prima Utama -Pelatnas SEA Games was also in good form, but he grabbed the 12th place with the difference of 1 minute and 20 seconds.
In the last 59 kilometres, a group of four cyclists made their first break including, Herwin Jaya (Polygon Sweet Nice –Surabaya), Rahim Emami (Azad University), Fatahillah Abdullah (Prima Muda -Pelatnas SEA Games) and Jelly Dorisman (Binong BaruPessel).
All of them gained a few seconds advantage over the peloton, but the last two riders were caught by the peloton. Herwin Jaya maintained his pace and with the help of his team he won the first sprint of the race.
Herwin said, “I worked really hard to win the jersey. Hopefully, I can retain it in Wednesday’s race,”
Herwin also took a title of Best Indonesian rider ahead of Fatahillah Abdullah and Agung Alisyahbana.
Amir Zargari also took an overall lead with the timing of 3 hours, 48 minutes and 16 seconds. Rahim Emami was runner-up with 2 seconds behind Amir.
Logan Calder of Plan B Racing was in third spot with the difference of 1 minute and 16 seconds.
The next stage will start in Pariaman and end in Bukit Tinggi. All the riders will cover the distance of 120 kilometres.
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