THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Stage 5: Panaria goes 1-2-3 at Langkawi
It’s not supposed to be this easy, but following the bunch sprint that concluded the fifth stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi, you got the feeling Graeme Brown and the Ceremica-Panaria crew could win these things with one foot unclipped. After Brown and teammate Ruben Bongiorno grabbed victories in stages 1 and 2, Brown earned another win on Tuesday in Kuala Terengganu. That gave the Aussie an all-time best six Langkawi stage wins.
Behind Brown, Bongiorno cruised home in second and leadout man Brett Lancaster grabbed third, giving Panaria a 1-2-3 finish at this oil-drilling outpost city that borders the South China Sea. Japan’s Koji Fukushima finished safely in the bunch to retain the yellow jersey.
“It’s probably a little bit of both,” answered Brown when asked whether it was his team’s form or other’s lack thereof that had the Langkawi spoils coming Panaria’s way so easily. “There’s a lot of teams that this is their first race. But for our team we had the Tour Down Under. That gave us six days to find our legs, and you can see it’s paying off.”
As it was in the team’s first two wins, the plan was everybody work for Brown except Bongiorno. And after a day of non-threatening attacks during the dead flat, north-to-south 163.9km run from Kota Bharu, the plan unfolded perfectly. With a train of three in front of him during the winding trip to the finish, Brown cruised across the line uncontested.
“Lancaster did an unbelievable job,” Brown said. “He led out with 600 meters to go. At 200 meters where I would normally go myself I looked around and nobody was coming and it was all single file so I knew Lancaster was doing a good job. I left it a little longer and we ran 1-2-3.”
Lancaster even admitted that he thought for a moment he might take the win for himself.
“Brown left a bit of room,” he said. “I was in the 12, went back to the 11 for a bit and then back to the 12. I should have just left it in the 11.”
The day began with the usual early attacks, before the threesome of James Van Landschoot (Landbouwkediet-Colnago), teammate Nico Sijmens and Irish national rider David McCann peeled off the front at the 12km. The trio would eventually build their advantage to 4:58, but with Fukushima’s Bridgestone squad aided by the sprint hungry Panaria team, the break was reeled back in at the 100km mark.
Ireland’s Paidi O’Brien attempted a solo move soon after, but this day was all about the sprinters. And while a crash at the 6km mark caused a small pileup, leaving a large chunk of the field 39 seconds back of the bunch at the end of the 3:47:06 stage, there was no denying Brown his record-breaking win.
“At the Tour Down Under I was a little bit down in form,” he said. “But the six days of racing I did there are helping me out here, and there’s still a few more flat stages, so we’ve got a few more chances to get some stage wins.”
Judging by what happened on Tuesday, a few more wins for Panaria are all but guaranteed.
RACE NOTES
A slimmed down TdL
It’s not like this year’s Tour de Langkawi is being run on a shoestring, but it’s clear some cutbacks have been made in the 10th year of the race. Gone are the big-screen TVs that used to be a hallmark of the finish venues, and staff cutbacks are evident.
“Of course there are a few elements that we’ve had to compromise on in the first year,” conceded managing director Simon Donnellan, who took over control of the event during the offseason. “The budget is down maybe 20-25 percent. It was basically that in the first year for me, my own resources were pretty finite in terms of the amount. I wanted to make sure that we could be put in a stronger position so that we could build for the future. I don’t think we’ve taken too many backwards steps. In terms of the teams I think we’ve got one of the best line-ups ever. What we’ve gone for is balance.”
Part of that balance, explained Donnellan, is trying to funnel some money away from the big event and into a grassroots program that will help grow cycling in Malaysia.
“What we’re telling the sponsors is that we’re bringing the cost of this event down with no detriment whatsoever,” he continued. “Now let’s channel our money into some of the development activities. Let’s get more juniors on board. You look at the number of kids on the side of the road everyday; well when the broom wagon has gone by what do they take away with them? There’s fond memories but let’s harness that and get them on bikes, too.”
North American update
Only two of the North Americans lost time on Tuesday, with Navigators Jeff Louder (at 0:14) falling back after leading out teammate Oleg Grishkine for the sprint, and Panaria’s Julio Perez (at 0:39) ending up on the wrong side of the split after the crash. Grishkine was fourth behind the three Panaria riders and is tied for second in the points competition.
JERSEY UPDATE
Yellow (Overall): Koji Fukushima (Jpn), Bridgestone
Green (Points): Graeme Brown (Aus), Ceramica-Panaria
Polka Dot (KoM): Koji Fukushima (Jpn), Bridgestone
Blue (Top Asian): Koji Fukushima (Jpn), Bridgestone
NEXT UP: Stage 6 — Kuala Berang to Cukai, 152km
Kuala Berang makes its debut as a host venue and will be the starting point for yet another stage on flat terrain. There are three sprints at Kampong Dendeng, Dungun Town and Kampung Kerteh and only one Category 4 climb at Kijal. The Tour will make its way along the east coast, passing Ajil, Simpang Bukit Besi and Dungun. Expect another bunch sprint.
