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Brazil’s Pagliarini wins crashed-marred sprint in Malaysia

by VeloNews.com

• February 01, 2003
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By Jason Sumner, VeloNews Associate Editor

Pagliarini got his first big win.

Photo: Jason Sumner

The finish stretch for the second day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi looked to be perfect for a clean, hard-fought sprint. The road was wide and the final straightaway long. But after what overall race leader Nathan O’Neill called “a bunch of guys racing like it was the last crusade,” two major crashes wreaked havoc on stage 2 Saturday in Malaysia.

In the aftermath, Saturn’s Charles Dionne was one of at least a half dozen riders who ended up in the hospital, suffering from a severe laceration on his left thigh and several broken fingers according to a hospital official.

Dionne gets medical attention after crashing.

Photo: Jason Sumner

Up front Mendonca Pagliarini (Lampre) managed to stay out of the fray, earning the first big win of his two-year professional career. Afterwards at the post-race press conference, Pagliarini clutched a small Brazilian flag, a memento to his native country that he said he’d been carrying around since he made the jump to the professional ranks.

“Until now it always had to stayed in my suitcase,” he said, a beaming smile creased across his tan face. “This is the first time I get to take it out.”

Pagliarini’s big win didn’t come without controversy, though. Initially there was talk that he might be relegated for an irregular sprint, but after race officials looked at the television replay his win was allowed to stand.

“Brown said I close the door on him,” explained Pagliarini, referring to Australian Panaria rider Graeme Brown who finished second on the day. “But that’s wrong. I had already overtaken him when I came in front of him.”

The opening hours of the 148.5km-long stage started in typical Tour de Langkawi fashion, as several Asian riders took their shots at long suicide breakaways. The move that stuck the longest was a three-rider move with Japan’s Koji Fukushima and Philippine’s Arnel Quirimit and Warren Davadilla. They would spend most of the flat run south from Kangar to Butterworth alone, maxxing out their advantage 5:43, before finally being reeled in during the first of three trips around the 8km circuit that preceded the finish.

Once the group was back together, the jockeying commenced with Credit Agricole, Panaria and Lampre all sending riders to the front. But just as the riders came into sight for the run to the finish the mayhem started.

Carnage seemed to be everywhere at the finish.

Photo: Jason Sumner

“All the sudden there was just a bunch of wheels in front of me,” said Saturn’s O’Neill, who himself went down and had a chainring gouge his calf. “I’m definitely a little annoyed. There’s no need to crash to win stages. That’s careless riding. People have got to consider the other guys out there.”

Despite the mishap, O’Neill managed to cross the finish and maintained his 23-second advantage over Roland Green (Canadian National) in the chase for the overall title. “Surprisingly we didn’t have to work defending today,” O’Neill said. “It was really the perfect stage. The guys just rode tempo all day.”

As for teammate Dionne, his racing here in Malaysia is certainly done. “Charles looked bad,” said Canadian National team rider Alex Lavallee. “His skin was all peeled back. He’s gonna need a ton of stitches.”

The 10-day, 1343.5 km race continues Sunday with another flat run, this time a 169.6km trip from Kulim to Ipoh.

NORTH AMERICAN RECAP
It was a tough day at Langkawi for the folks from Saturn and the Canadian National teams. Besides Dionne, Gord Fraser and Peter Wedge were also involved in the carnage. The extent of their injuries was yet to be confirmed, but the pair crossed the line in 133rd and 134th place. The rest of those two team’s finished safely in the bunch.

OLD TOWN
After the finish in Butterworth, the entire race entourage made the short trip across the Selat Melaka’s (Strait of Melaka) Selat Seletan (South Channel) to the island of Penang. Riders made the trip by car, crossing over the expansive Penang Island bridge, which is the longest in Southeast Asia. The rest of the race caravan crossed by car ferry, making the 3km trip in about 15 minutes.

Penang is a 285-square kilometer island that is the oldest of the oldest of the British Straits settlements, predating Singapore and Melaka. The island’s main city is Georgetown, a bustling urban center of 220,000. Georgetown is predominantly Chinese, and in some parts of town it seems as time has stood still during the last 50 years. While other Chinatowns in this part of the world have given way to the trappings of modernization, this city has plenty of reminders of times past: old shop houses, bicycle rickshaws, winding streets and ancient temples.

CULTIRE CLASH
At the post-race awards ceremony stage winner Pagliarini leaned in hard for the traditional cycling kiss from one of the podium girls. But the young Malay lady was having none of it, and dodged the Brazilian before offering only a handshake.

WHAT’S NEXT
Stage 3
Kulim — Ipoh: 169.6km
Having overnighted on the island of Penang stage 3 takes the race from Kulim south to Ipoh. There is one small climb on this stage which won’t likely be enough to split the field and with a very fast run in over the final 30kms the field should finish all together.

Photo Gallery

Results

TOUR DE LANGKAWI;
MALAYSIA, JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 9, 2003;
STAGE 2: Kangar – Butterworth:148.3 km ;
1. Mendonca Pagliarini, (I), Lampre, 148.5km in 3:32:55; 2. Graeme Brown,(Aus), Ceramiche Panaria; 3. Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr), Colombia-Selle Italia; 4. Andrus Aug (Est), De Nardi-Colpack; 5. Moreno Di Biase (I), Formaggi Pinzolo; 6. Hassen Mizan (Irn), Iran; 7. Stuart O’Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole; 8. Tommy Evans (Irl), Telekom Malaysia; 9. Malcolm Lange (SA), South Africa; 10. Hossain Askari (Irn), Iran; OVERALL STANDINGS; 1 Nathan O’Neill (Aus), Saturn, 3:44:48; 2. Roland Green (Can), Canada, at 0:23; 3. Tom Danielson (USA), Saturn, at 0:24; 4. Eric Wohlberg (Can), Saturn, at 0:28; 5. Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr), Ceramiche Panari, at 0:31; 6. Hernan Dario Munoz (Col), Colombia-Selle Italia, at 0:38; 7. Freddy Gonzalez (Col), Colombia-Selle Italia, at 0:39; 8. Gord Fraser (Can), Canada, at 0:44; 9. Seamus McGrath (Can) Canada, 0:45; 10. David Fernandez (Sp), Colchon-Relax, at 0:45