Race report
2012 Tour de Brunei | Stage 4: Kuala Belait – Bandar Seri Begawan
Time bonuses from winning today’s fourth and longest stage elevated Terengganu Cycling’s Mohd Harrif Saleh onto the GC podium. Race leader Hossein Askari still maintains a 24″ lead over his nearest rival, Duc Tam Trinh of Vietnam, with one day of racing remaining.
2012 Tour de Brunei | Stage 3: Tutong – Kuala Belait
As expected, Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical Team and Malaysia’s Terengganu Cycling Team have been asserting themselves as key favourites in the general classification but, at the race’s mid-way point, the Vietnamese team of second-placed Duc Tam Trinh is showing itself to be no easy pushover.
2012 Tour de Brunei | Stage 2: Bandar Seri Begawan – Tutong
How does it feel to take a lukewarm two and a half hour bath? Most of the 106 pro cyclists that lined up for today’s 117.4km second stage on the flooded streets of Brunei’s capital city were able to finish knowing the answer, with Tabriz Petrochemical Team’s Hossein Askari the first to towel off.
2012 Tour de Brunei | Stage 1: Muara – Bandar Seri Begawan
Damp conditions and a low average speed meant the sizzle was somewhat absent in Tour de Brunei’s 93.1 kilometre opening stage. Somewhat ironically, having left from the factory compound of race sponsor Butra Heidelberg Cement, it may have seemed as if riders were racing through wet cement.
2012 Tour of China II | Stage 5: Tianjin Circuit Race
BMC Hincapie Development team notched up its second stage win in China today, courtesy of a small break that achieved the rare feat of remaining ahead in a circuit race without being snuffed out metres from the finish. Despite being caught in a finish line tumble, Stefan Schumacher takes home the Tour of China II … Continue reading
2012 Tour of China II | Stage 4: Tianjin ITT
Just like his Formula 1 namesake, Stefan Schumacher started today’s 18.2 kilometre individual time trial in pole position and never looked back. Even an on-course mechanical wasn’t enough to stop the former Grand Tour rider from winning by a comfortable margin.
2012 Tour of China II | Stage 3: Dezhou Circuit Race
A misreading of the elements by Team Type 1′s key sprinter Alexander Serebryakov presented Leonid Krasnov his opportunity to leverage the tactical nous and speed hardwired into his DNA, thus handing Rusvelo its first stage win since the Tour of Qinghai Lake in July.
2012 Tour of China II | Stage 2: Jining – Jining
On current form, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Alexander Serebryakov could win this race. With yet another ten seconds of time bonuses from today’s stage win in the bag, the soon-to-be-out-of-contract sprinter needs only one more stage win to tie with current yellow jersey Stefan Schumacher.
2013 Tour de Langkawi route announced
Malaysia’s Le Tour de Langkawi is arguably the pinup event in the first half of the AsiaTour calendar. Though the 2.HC-ranked Tours of Qatar and Oman have superior funding, ‘LTdL’ delivers colour, passion, energized racing and professionalism in spades. The route of the 18th LTdL, from February 21 to March 2, was announced in Kuala Lumpur … Continue reading
2012 Tour of China II | Stage 1: Huainan circuit race
If Alexander Serebryakov was today’s biggest winner, the biggest loser was Aisan Racing Team’s Taiji Nishitani. A stage winner last week, the diminutive Japanese sprinter was ejected from the race, along with his team, allegedly due to concerns for their safety amidst the ugly Japan-China land rights dispute. With that, Nishitani’s chances of winning the 2012 … Continue reading
