Rujano wins Tour de Langkawi

Jose Rujano finished safely in the main bunch in the final stage to win the Tour de Langkawi on Sunday.

The 28-year-old’s ISD-Neri team kept a tight leash on the bunch during the 133.7km final stage from Kuala Kubu Baru to Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Ghader Misbani (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling) led a 52km break that took a minute and 45 seconds on the bunch, but the Iranian started the day five minutes and 12 seconds behind Rujano and was never a serious threat. His group was hauled back on the finishing circuits in Kuala Lumpur, as were a couple of subsequent breaks.

The final stage victory went to Australian Stuart Shaw (Drapac-Porsche). He was delighted with his win, especially as he had come to Malaysia expecting to perform domestique duties.

“I just had my appendix out and had surgery. I had three months off my bike and this is my first race in five months,” he said. “The team sent me here, which was nice, to come and help Peter (McDonald) win the King of the Mountain and to help Adiq Othman.

“I just came here to help the team and every day I got a little bit stronger. Today I felt good near the sprint. So I had a bit of a go. It was a nice result.”

McDonald had started the day level on points with Rujano in the King of the Mountains competition but, thanks to the latter’s first place on yesterday’s hors categorie climb up to Genting Highlands, he was awarded the jersey.

McDonald knew he had to beat him by at least one point to secure victory in the classification, and had strong team support in the first KOM prime at Batu Arang (km 41.3). He was first to the top, with his teammate David Pell second and Rujano only third.

Neither of them disputed the final KOM climb in this year’s race, Batu Arang (km 50.6), which went to Irishman David McCann (Giant Asia) ahead of Dmytro Grabovskyy (ISD-Neri) and Ian McLeod (South Africa).

McDonald was very satisfied to return to Australia with the red climber’s jersey.

“It has been a long week, with lots of racing. There were little climbs to try to get a point here, get a point there,” he said. “Yesterday I was a bit disappointed to miss out on a few opportunities leading up to the big climb (Genting Highlands). I finished fourth up the big climb and to not actually have the jersey … I needed one more point.

“Today worked out all right with the team. They did a good job to lead me out for the climb. They were very aggressive in the corners leading up to it, and that helped us to make the gap. I was able to get the sprint.”

Rujano said that the climb didn’t really suit him. “For me, really, the most important thing was to win the yellow jersey today,” he said. “I tried to do the sprint but in mountains that are only 100 meters high, it is not really for me. I couldn’t keep the polka-dot jersey but I keep the yellow … that is what I wanted.”

Back in the big time?

Rujano burst into prominence five years ago with excellent performances in the Tour de Langkawi and the Giro d’Italia. He was second at Genting and second overall in the former, while he took a stage, the King of the Mountains competition and third overall in the latter.

Since then, he hasn’t performed at the same level, but is confident that he is now fully back on track.

“This year, the rhythm of the race was pretty high as many riders were in good condition,” he said, when asked how he could compare the 2005 version with this one, which has fewer big-name teams. “The Asian riders are improving, they are getting better legs year after year.

“The race went very well for me. I am very happy with the condition I have now and I have two months to go to improve it for the Giro d’Italia.”

Rujano will take two weeks’ rest, then ride the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali March 23-27, the Settimana Ciclista Lombardia March 31-April 5, the Giro di Trentino April 20 and the Giro del Appennino April 25.

After his strong performance in Malaysia, he said that he will head to Europe feeling a lot better about his chances.

“This win is very important for me. It was important for my confidence, but also for my new team,” he said. “I am very happy that ISD picked me for this year, after some time outside Europe. I can see that the team has done a great job for me this week. This is also a good sign for the Giro d’Italia, which is the most important race for me this year.”

A star is born

Malaysian Anuar Manan took a stage win earlier this week and sealed his victory in the points classification on Sunday. While he was just fourth in the sprint, three places off his target of netting another win, he got a hero’s welcome from the very vocal crowd.

Humble and appreciative, Manan showed great speed and a fighting spirit in this race. His stage win was the first ever by a Malaysian, and his victory in the points classification was the first by an Asian rider.

Together with race runner-up Hyo Suk Gong (Seoul Cycling), Thursday’s victor Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team), the team classification win by the Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling squad, and the general aggressive, competitive performance by riders from the continent, it was clear that Asian cycling has moved to a new level and no longer plays second-fiddle to European, American and Australian competitors.

“I got the green jersey, it is the best thing for me,” he said, when asked if this race had brought his best performance to date in cycling. “I won one stage and I took the green jersey too – I am very happy.”

Manan started the day 11 points clear of double stage winner Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-Skins), and didn’t have to worry too much in the finale. Neither rider went for the intermediate sprints, which were won by Shaw, Christoff Van Heerden (South Africa) and Askari, and in the finishing gallop, he finished fourth to Matthews’ 14th place.

That saw him end the race a full 21 points clear, and highlighted his potential as a sprinter.

His goal is now to head overseas and do a lot more racing, improving his sprinting power and tactics.

“I have a good team now to bring me up from the Asian level,” he said. “The next step is that I am going to Europe and will be doing some races there. We will go to France for around three months, racing and training there. Maybe it is good for me, will help me develop more. If I have many, many races, perhaps I can improve my sprint. Then I can reach the same level as the ProTour sprinters.”

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Top 10 places in Stage 7:
1. Stuart Shaw (AUS/Drapac Porsche Cycling) 3:01:00,
2. Vidal Celis (ESP/Footon-Servetto) s.t.,
3. Rene Haselbacher (AUT/Vorarlberg-Corratec) s.t.,
4. Anuar Manan (MAS/Geumsan Ginseng Asia) s.t.,
5. Ruslan Tleubayev (KAZ/Kazakhstan National) s.t.,
6. Tobias Erler (GER/Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling) s.t.,
7. Alex Candelario (USA/Kelly Benefit Strategies)
8. Pierpaolo Negri (ITA/ISD-Neri) s.t.,
9. Hossein Nateghi (IRI/Azad University Iran ) s.t.,
10. Richard Lang (AUS/Team Jayco-Skins) s.t.

Top 10 places overall:
1. Jose Rujano Guillen (VEN/ISD-Neri) 24:07:58,
2. Hyo Suk Gong (KOR/Seoul Cycling) 24:07:05,
3. Hossein Askari (IRI/Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling) 24:10:37,
4. Peter McDonald (AUS/Drapac Porsche Cycling) 24:10:37,
5. Amir Zargari (IRI/Azad University Iran) 24:12:11,
6. Markus Eibegger (AUT/Footon-Servetto) 24:12:52,
7. Alexandr Shushemoin (KAZ/Kazakhstan National Team) 24:12:52,
8. Matthias Brandle (AUT/Footon-Servetto) 24:12:56,
9. Ghader Mizbani (IRI/Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling 24:13:08,
10. Ahad Kazemi (IRI/Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling) 24:13:44

FILED UNDER: News / Race Report / Road TAGS: Tour de Langkawi