Team KL climb to eighth

16/08/2002

THE Kuala Lumpur Invitational Team put up a creditable perfromance in
Stage Two of the Gamuda Eagle Tour yesterday.
The team's charge, led by Nor Affendy Rosli, pushed them to eighth from
16th after Stage One when three of their riders finished tied on 31:19:38
seconds.
Nor Affendy, Tsen Seong Hoong and Musa Musairi kept up with the leading
pack throughout the 142.6km race and shot up the Team Stage
Classification.
The other two KLC members found the going tough. Wong Ah Tiam could only
manage 51st spot while Wan Mohamed Najme finished 116th after falling off
his bike midway through the race.
The accumulated effort of the team is 10:40:51, and Nor Affendy said
their plan to stick together through thick and thin has paid dividents.
"Before the start of the race, we made a pact to stick together and keep
up with the leading pack. Although two of our riders were left behind by
the furious pace, I kept my cool and followed the leaders from the start,"
said Nor Affendy.
However, Nor Effendy, making his final push in preparation for the Asian
Games in Busan, feels that Stage Three will be tough on his team because
of the gruelling climb up Gunung Raya.
"We will not only be battling the tough climb up the mountain, but also
against some very good climbers who have assembled for this inaugural
tour. So I feel that this stage will be crucial to make or break any
team," said Nor Affendy.
Selangor's Sweet Nice, who finished 12th after Stage One, moved up one
rung when their rider Mohamed Mahadzir finished in the main group. The
team now has an accumulated time of 10:46:17.
The other two Malaysian teams remained among the bottom sides. The
Malaysian National Team is still 13th with a time 10:48:18 and Stage One
bottom team National Sports Council Team moved up to 17th with 10:53:26.
The last spot, 21st, is now occupied by the Thaland National team on
11:02:25.
(END)