In a fantastic finish, Malaysian cyclist Sharin Amir has won both the Yellow Jersey with the time of 3:24:32, and King of the Mountain of Stage Three of the 4th annual Tour de Timor. It was his first Stage win after four consecutive tours.
Shahrin Amir has snatched a 12-second lead from Australia’s Jarrod Hughes to take the Yellow Jersey after a brutal stage that wound through 78 kilometres of mountainous terrain in the Timor-Leste enclave of Oekussi.
It was a dramatic race for the Malaysian who was part of a breakaway lead with Australia’s Ashley Hayat, but Amir took the lead after Hayat crashed into a spectator about 12 kilometres from the finish line.
“I actually wanted Ashley to win because he helped me out on the KOMs but he crashed and came in at 4th place,” said Amir.
“Today I actually targeted the KOM jersey – I was 2nd in the first KOM and also 2nd in the second KOM – the target was the KOM but I didn’t think I was going to win!”
Second place was taken by Australian, Nick Morgan, with the time of 3:28:16, with fellow Australian Phillip Orr coming in fast behind him with the time of 3:28:26.
The first woman to cross the finish line was Australia’s Lisa Jacobs with the time of 3:49:05 – one second faster than Women’s 2011 defending champion Peta Mullens who crossed at 3:49:06. The first local rider to cross the line was Orlando da Costa with the time of 3:49:08 – he is the younger brother of Timor-Leste’s national rider Jacinto da Costa.
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.