Tour can help narrow gap

14/08/2002

THE Gamuda Eagle Tour of Malaysia, which begins in Langkawi today, is seen
as the first step in an effort to close the gap between professional
riders, Asians and amateur cyclists.
The gap, as seen in the Le Tour de Langkawi, is becoming so obvious that
if left unchecked, Asians will never be able to catch up with the
professional riders.
"We realise that the standard of the Le Tour de Langkawi has shot up
over the years and the majority of Asian cyclists and teams are finding it
harder to catch up with the European riders.
"That is why we came up with the Gamuda Eagle Tour, which is exclusively
for Asian teams and minor clubs from Europe," said Clear Mission Executive
Chairman Datuk Wan Lokman Wan Ibrahim in Langkawi yesterday.
Clear Mission are the organisers of the Gamuda Tour.
"It is our hope that when the Eagle Tour takes off, it will soar and
become Asia's premier race. It is the least we can do to promote cycling
in this part of the world," added Wan Lokman.
The race has attacted 21 teams and among the frontrunners are Team Down
Under from Belgium, which will parade former Tour of Tasmania champion
Glenn Chadwick.
Malaysia will field four teams and the strong set-up, on paper, is KLCA
invitational which has a rider from the United States, Robert Lee. The
other members are Musairi Musa, Nor Affendy Rosli, Najme Wan Mohamed, Tsen
Seong Hoong and Wong Ah Thiam.
Parading an experienced line-up, Team KL will be under the spotlight to
deliver as expectations are high.
Wong, Nor Effandy and Tsen will be the riders to look out for in the
climbs while Roberts and Musairi have a good chance for stage podium
finishes.
Nor Effandy, who last week emerged as the national champion in Malacca,
describes Stage Three as his main challenge.
Stage Three is over 69.5km and the toughest part will be the 13km climb
up Gunung Raya.
"I personally feel that the rider who leads the first three kilometres
of the Gunung Raya climb will be crowned as King of the Mountain. It is
the toughest part in the five-stage tour and I will make a strong attempt
there," said Nor Affendy.
Nor Affendy, the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games silver medallist,
has done well this year with a 47th-place overall finish in the Tour of
Japan and was the ninth overall Asian finisher in the Le Tour de Langkawi.
But it won't be easy as the Tour has attracted some of Asia's best.
(END)