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Iran’s Presidency Tour report: Azad University Cycling Team dominates

  • By Daniel Carruthers
  • Published May. 30, 2011
  • The HC climb up Mount Dizin afforded dazzling views for those who had time to enjoy ... Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Stone Gate signified the start of the vicious Hors Category climb to 3,400m over 16kms. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Kiwi rider Logan Calder feeling the pain of the sustained climbing at 40kph! Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • This talented Persian girl played the drum during the cultural performance. You can see the stunning diversity of Persian faces here. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Belgium Chief Commissarie, Jean-Pierre Coppenoll, talks about the improvement of Iranian riders but would like to see more of them competing on the European circuit. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • No photo, no photo! says this good-natured soldier who was one of many called in for Tour protection. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • One of the many little Persian Princesses at the prize-giving for stage 2. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • It was a chaotic first morning with things hastily done minutes before the start of stage 1 at the Presidents Tour of Iran. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Rahim Emami (Azad University) takes stage 2's win over Libardo Nino Corredor. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • This image truly reflects the level of suffering most of the riders underwent to make it through each day. It was a humbling experience for many. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • M.Samad Pour Seyedi (AZAD University) consolidated his yellow jersey grip on day four when he made the breakaway without the Colombians. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • This donkey was too sleepy to take notice of the action that flashed by. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The break feeding during stage 3 of the President Tour. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The sprint for the minor placings. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Miguel Nino Corredor time-trialing to victory during stage 3. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Some of the many young supporters out in force for the stage 3 finish in Boomehen Town. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Tabriz-Petrochemical Cycling Team bicycles equipped with Lightweight Wheels. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The two special security agents hired in to ensure the foreign riders would be safe throughout their Iran stay. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The mega-strong Azad University Team dominated the 2011 Presidency Tour of Iran. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Azad University Team were the team to beat at the President Tour of Iran. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • This Iranian camera-man was lucky when he escaped major injuries or even death when he was riding on the bonnet of a media car trying to get a good vantage point to film the race! Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The crosswinds on the Perisan Gulf Freeway were horrendous. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Both the Colombians had to ride at the front all day as they missed the early selection that included Azad University's yellow jersey. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Persian Gulf Freeway runs through a dry acrid desert. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • More young supporters out enjoying the sunny day to see the racers take off from Aradan Village. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The peloton content to ride easy through the highway section before trying to reel the breakaway back in during stage 3. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Miguel Nino Corredor is completely focused on the job to put as much time on his rivals. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Colombian Letua rider flies in like a bird to take an impressive victory. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Alexander Malone (Team Plan B Australia) spent most of stage 3 in the breakaway but was dropped on the climbs. He still got a top-20 result. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Riders were too tired to go and play in the carnival ground next to the finish line! Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Amir Zargari (AZAD University) explaining how the stage unfolded. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Alireza Haghi and Abbas Saeidi, both of the Azad University Team recovering after another hard effort during stage 3. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Waiting for the prize-giving, it is a crowded house! Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Miguel Nino Corredor (Letua) congratulates TPT rider Hossein Ali Zadeh on the podium. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The view from the hotel at the end of another long day for the riders. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • A jubiliant Rahim Emami and his gold bicycle that came with the win. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The winners podium of stage 2. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Colorful Persian girls giving a traditional performance at stage 2's prize ceremony. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The two Colombian super climbers all smiles after stage 2's great performance. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Libardo Nino Corredor took a comfortable second and retained the yellow jersey for another day. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Best-placed Japanese national team rider, Tomohiro Hayakawa found the climb at end of stage 2 a bit much! Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Rahim Emami (Azad University) was a well deserved winner of stage 2. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Amir Zargari in the mountain jersey struggled up the latter part of the climb to fall behind the small group driven by the Colombian. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Libardo Nino Corredor (Letua) makes climbing look easy as the others struggle in his wake. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • During the final brutal climb during stage 2, the lead group was whittled down to just seven riders. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • This Kazakhstan rider spent all day in the breakaway and suffered on the climb. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Mid-point in the stage, the peloton riding through a desert town. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The winner of stage 1, Libardo Nino Corredor (Letua). He was in the breakaway and soloed away before the Super Climb to win by 1 minute 14seconds. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Once over the 3,400m mountain pass, riders had to negotiate a long treacherous 20km to the finish. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Plenty of switchbacks for the riders to negotiate. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Super Climb continues its never-ending ascent. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The climb was spectacular, taking in the mountainous scenery near Tehran. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Ex-grand tour rider Nathan Dahlberg (Team Plan B Australia) was in the breakaway but was caught at the base of the Super Climb. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The break is caught just before the climb through the ski resort. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The race heads into the long, but rolling climb at about 1800m. They still have to climb to 3,400m! Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The second group rolls by in pursuit of the four-man breakaway. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The Azad University Team set a hard tempo on the front all day as they had no one represented in the break. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The peloton still intact as we hit the first real climbing section. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Somehow, the entire Astana Track Team found themselves in the breakaway. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • More protection forces in place surrounding the Azadi Sports Stadium, Iran's largest stadium that also houses the National Cycling Track. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Iran's version of Red Bull, HYPE MFP Energy Drink. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Current UCI Asia Tour Leader, Mehdi Sohrabi with TPT manager Ali Abdol. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • Iranian Mahan Air rider clearly enjoying the HYPE benefits. Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • One of the HYPE girls hyping a rider up with some drink and small talk... Photo: Daniel Carruthers
  • The HYPE girls going around handing out the Iranian brand, Hype, energy drink to the riders. Some of the ingredients might be suspect though! Photo: Daniel Carruthers

The HC climb up Mount Dizin afforded dazzling views for those who had time to enjoy ... Photo: Daniel Carruthers

TEHRAN (VN) — The International Presidency Tour is in its fourth year and the parcours make this race one of toughest in the world with the race crossing 3,400-meter mountain passes. Many of the foreign teams were shocked to see the stage profiles with only a few days’ notice, which suddenly turned the 708km five-day race into a race from hell, designed for bantam weight climbers.

Only six foreign teams made the trip to participate in the UCI 2.2 ranked International Presidency Tour, including Australia’s Plan B, national teams from Japan, Uzbekistan andKazakhstan, the Astana Track Team, and Malaysia’s Letua team.

Perhaps many of the foreign teams got wind of just how hard the tour would be and stayed away. Only the two Colombians were able to hang with the Iranian’s savage pace on the mountain climbs; the Azad University Team showed they were the best by upstaging the famous Tabriz-Petrochemical Team by taking the yellow jersey and the overall team classification.

It was essentially a two-way battle between Azad University and Letua’s two climbing sensations. It was not till the end of the third stage that Azad’s M.Samad Pour Seyedi snatched yellow by two seconds and then consolidated it during stage 4’s breakaway that did not include the Colombians. Pour Seyedi won the final stage in a thrilling battle between three Azad University riders and a lone Libardo Nino Corredor (Letua) on the final 25km mountain ascent.

To give you an idea of the toughness of this tour, stage one basically consisted of an 115km climb from 1200m to over 3,400m above sea level. This combined with strong head wind for most of the race duration and a rampant Azad University Cycling Team who had no riders represented in the break made things very difficult for the peloton. By the time the race hit the serious hors category climb to the pass, the peloton just exploded into fragments.

You can view Team Plan B Alex Malone’s ride data on the Stava site.

Despite some organizational and logistical challenges, the Presidents Tour of Iran was successfully completed with riders relieved that it was over. It was a race that was far too difficult for the majority of the riders and this was shown in the way the riders were scattered all over the climbs. It was really a race between top five to 10 riders, with the rest riding to survive to meet the time cuts; fewer than 50 riders finished from the original 68.

However, despite all this suffering, the Tour showcased what the Tehran surrounding areas offered: stunning snow capped mountains to the wind-swept dry barren deserts. It was truly a tour that displayed the epic beauty of Central Iran and the 5th International Presidency Tour in 2012 promises to be even better in terms of organization with easier parcours and more level playing field.

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