Hi
Did anyone manage to catch the action of the tour de langkawi?
Stage 3 was really amazing. kogi from japan made a breakaway from the start and finish the stage with over 2 minutes. one of the most breathtaking break away in the tour. hope to does well in the remaining stages.
In case you didn't catch the action, here's the write up:
[left][font=Verdana][censored] makes a near complete sweep of Stage 3 Awards[/font]
[font=Verdana]Bernama, 30/01/2005[/font]
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[left][font=Verdana]TANAH MERAH, Jan 30 (Bernama) - Japanese rider Koji [censored] provided one of the most sensational finishes in the history of the Tour de Langkawi cycling race when he almost made a clean sweep of the awards, including the prestigious yellow jersey in stage 3 which ended at the North-eastern coast of Malaysia.
[censored] from Bridgestone Anchor broke away minutes after the start of the stage in Gerik and never looked back to cross the finish line a stunning 2 minutes and 35 seconds ahead of second placed Acqua & Sapone's rider Denis Bertolini and Graeme Brown from Ceramica Panaria who finished third.
Since he was able to complete the 172.5km stage with a superb time of 4'25:01 and gain valuable stage time over the others, he claimed the jerseys for stage win, overall individual classification, Asian Rider and the King of the Mountain categories.
In fact, during the final 10km of the race [censored] held a 5-minute advantage over the peloton.
"The emotion is just too much for me to handle at the moment. It is difficult for me to find words to describe how I feel today.
"In the peloton, I'm considered a small rider, so I really pushed hard to win today and gain some respect. I don't know what awaits me tomorrow but I will try to keep this jersey for as long as I can," he said.
Sunday's win by [censored], 32, helped his team take over as leaders in the team general classification and Asian team categories.
The only award that got away from the Japanese rider's grip was the points competition which remained firmly in the hands of Australian Olympic medallist, Brown who finished third Sunday.
However, despite winning the various jerseys he will only be allowed to wear one jersey (stage winner, yellow) when stage 4 starts Monday.
The King of the Mountain red polka dot jersey would automatically go to second placed Kristian House from Team Great Britain.[/font]
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