Despite Stage Five of the Tour being won by Australia’s Ashley Hayat with the time of 4:54:55 it was Tour de Timor veteran Shahrin Amir who has made a dominant stand in all of the main categories. Shahrin Amir has regained the Yellow Jersey for the second time on the 4th annual Tour de Timor in a gutsy day 5 ride, he has also won King of the Mountain and is overall leader of the six-day international Mountain Bike race.
The grueling 115-kilometre route was mostly dirt and broken road and with over two-kilolmetres of climbing from Mota Ain to the mountain town of Gleno in the coffee growing district of Ermera which sits 55-kilometres north of Dili. Not only has Shahrin Amir snatched the Yellow Jersey back from previous day holder, Australia’s Peter Kutschera, he also leads the pack as overall leader with a big margin of 3:38 over the Australian.
Kutschera lost precious minutes on the side of the road fixing a puncture, but the new tyre tube kept deflating and he had to wait for 10-minutes until a teammate came along before he could replace the tube. Amir also leads Australia’s Jarrod Hughes as King of the Mountain by 2 points – 102 to Hughes’ 100 points.
Women’s 2011 defending champion, Peta Mullens was the first woman to cross the finish line with the time of 5:32:39 and is overall leader in the Women’s category with a 1:23:30 lead clear of rival, Maszlyaton Mohd Radzi of Malaysia.
And for the third time this tour, the first Timor-Leste rider to cross the line was Antonio Martens with the time of 5:27:16. The 4th 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.