Day Two of the six-day International Mountain Bike race is historic as it crossed into the Indonesian territory of West Timor for the first time en route to the Timor-Leste enclave of Oekussi 92 kilometres west of the border town Mota Ain.
Most of today’s race followed the coastline through West Timor with the final 20-kilometres traversing through Oekussi to the seaside town of Pante Makasar.
Participating in his 2nd Tour de Timor, Mohd Razif said: “I broke away early at the 30 kilometre mark with two other guys and we were eventually caught by the peloton but then I broke away again alone and was never caught. Today I targeted a stage win because I’ve never won any stages before on the Tour de Timor.”
Second place was taken by Australian,Chris Hanson, with the time of 2:44:24, with fellow Australian Phillip Orr close on his tail with the time of 2:44:29.
Women’s 2011 defending champion Peta Mullens was again the first female rider to cross the line, and came in at fourth place overall with the time of 2:44:38.
Timor-Leste’s national rider Antonio Martens was the first local rider to cross the line for his country with the time of 2:50:35.
Jarrod Hughes maintains the yellow jersey with a 7th place finish after winning stage one.
The fourth Tour de Timor promises to be the most varied of all the races so far for the riders. The route includes a split mix of two challenging hill climbing days, two road racing days and two mixed terrain days. Around 320 riders are expected to ride together in what is fast becoming Asia’s most notorious (and lucrative) mountain bike race. The race will be held in September from the 10th to the 15th.
Visit the official website: www.tourdetimor.com for more info.