THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Stage 8: Tour de Langkawi: O’Grady grabs win No. 2; Genting awaits
Someday someone will actually pull it off here in Malaysia. Break away from the field early in the race, hammer hard for a few hours, and catch the peloton napping just long enough to grab a solo victory. That day, however, was not today. Despite a Herculean effort from the increasingly famous Koji Fukushima, the eighth stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi ended with another mad-dash sprint at the end. And like he did two days before, Australian Stuart O’Grady came away the winner.
O’Grady (Credit Agricole) took advantage of a technical run into the finishing city of Seremban -- his specialty -- then burst across the line well ahead of Spain’s Miguel Perdiguero (Domina Vacanze) to take the 112.5km stage that started back in Kuala Lumpur beneath the towering shadow of the Telekom Malaysia headquarters building on Friday.
In the chase for the overall title, Saturn’s Tom Danielson remained in the top spot, finishing safely with the bunch in 58th place.
But the real story was Fukushima. The Japanese national team rider took off less than 2km into a stage that included two category 2 climbs, and stayed away until the descent of the final climb, with just 15km to go. At one point his gap was 5:26 on the field.
“I was just too tired on the last climb,” said Fuksuhima, who lives in France and rides for top tier amateur team V.C. Rouen. “On the last mountain I just couldn’t keep going anymore.”
With Fuksuhima reeled in the attacking began. But the all the aggressors, including Saturn’s Chris Horner, were recaptured, and at the end it was O’Grady marching to the front.
“I got in the right position with about 1k to go, got up front and just looked for the orange and came off them,” said O’Grady referring to the Panaria team of Graeme Brown, who’ve had the strongest leadouts here for most of the first eight days.
The win moved O’Grady six points closer to Brown in the chase for the points jersey. The pair are separated by just 5 points with two stages to go.
“I struggled pretty hard with the climbs,” admitted Brown, who ended up 7th. “But the guys managed to get me back on, and at the end the goal was to just stay close to Stuart so he didn’t gain to much.”
The 10-day, 1343.5 km race continues Saturday with what will almost certainly be the deciding stage, the 143.7km trip from Seremban up into the Genting Highlands.
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NORTH AMERICAN RECAP
For the most part it was an uneventful day, as no one still in the overall hunt lost time. Saturn, however, went from three riders in the top 10 to just one, after Nathan O’Neill and Eric Wohlberg both lost time. O’Neill dropped from ninth to 14th, while Wohlberg tumbled from 3rd to 68th. Both riders have been doing much of the dirty work this week, splitting time with Phil Zajicek and Tim Johnson at the front of the Saturn train. O’Neill is also suffering from the effects of two crashes, including one on Thursday that left him with a gaping hole in his left elbow.
“It’s just a void. There’s nothing there,” O’Neill said before Friday’s stage. “It’s hurting a pretty fair bit right now.”
Here’s the current placing and time for all the North American riders at this race in Southeast Asia: Tom Danielson (USA), overall race leader; Chris Horner (USA), 13th at 0:38; Roland Green (Can), 40th at 1:25; Phil Zajicek (USA), 49th at 1:41; Seamus McGrath (Can), 58th at 1:58; Eric Wohlberg (Can), 68th at 3:31; Tim Johnson (USA), 82nd at 5:03; Peter Wedge (Can), 89th at 5:33; Gord Fraser (Can), 100th at 7:31; Cory Lange (Can), 103rd at 7:50; Bruno Langlois (Can), 119th at 14:04; Alex Lavellee (Can), 120th at 14:34.
CONTENDERS OR PRETENDERS
With the climb up into the Genting Highlands set for Saturday, here’s a look at the 10 riders with the best shot of propelling themselves into the yellow jersey with a strong day. All are within 1:30 of the overall lead, 30 seconds less than the time deficit overall race winner Hernan Dario Munoz reeled in last year on Genting.
1. Tom Danielson (USA), Saturn, current race leader.
— He shattered the Mount Washington Hill Climb record and the yellow jersey always inspires. One team manager even pegged the 24-year-old as the next Armstrong.
2. Hernan Dario Munoz (Col), Colombia-Selle Italia, 5th at 0:14.
— Last year he overcame a 2-minute deficit, taking the Genting win and eventually the overall TdL title.
3. Freddy Gonzalez (Col), Colombia-Selle Italia, 6th at 0:14.
— He'll likely be riding for Munoz, but if his countryman is having a bad day he could step up.
4. Fortunato Baliani (I), Formaggi-Pinzolo, 7th at 0:24.
— The No. 1 guy on his team, he can’t be overlooked.
5. Paolo Lanfranchi (I), Ceremiche-Panaria, 9th at 0:33.
— The race’s only two-time overall champion, was pegged early by TV commentator Phil Liggett as the man to beat.
6. Gabriele Missaglia (I), Lampre, 11th at 0:36.
— Won the race overall in 1998, so he knows what it takes to get to the top.
7. David George (SA), South Africa, 12th at 0:38.
— A definite darkhorse, but he hung on Munoz’s wheel until the bitter end last year, finally settling for second in the final kilometer.
8. Chris Horner (USA), Saturn, 13th at 0:38.
— Another former winner, he’ll be riding for Danielson but could step up if the youngster falters.
9. Dave Bruylandts (B), Marlux, 23rd at 0:53.— The designated climber for this Belgian team that could use a result after a lackluster opening eight days.
10. Roland Green (Can), Canada, 40th at 1:25.
— The reigning cross-country world champion probably can’t bring back that kind of time, but he could be there for the stage win.
The Pick: Danielson would be an amazing story, but Munoz has been coyly kicking back biding his time. On Saturday he’ll emerge with the win and the yellow jersey.
JERSEY UPDATE
Yellow (Overall leader): Tom Danielson — The Saturn rider finished safely in the bunch, and owns 1-second advantage over Stuart O’Grady, who jumped up three places after earning a 10-second time bonus for his second stage win.
Green (Points): Graeme Brown — The Aussie held on the lead, but saw his margin cut by six to five, after finishing six spots behind O’Grady.
Polka Dot (KoM): Roland Green — The Canadian saw his lead cut to five points, after Fuksuhima grabbed first-place in all three Kom’s, picking up 26 points a moving into second place.
Blue (Top Asian rider): Hossain Askari — The Iranian maintained his advantage over Tonton Susanto of 0:11.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Saturn
2. Colombia-Selle Italia, at 1:17
3. Panaria, at 1:22
4. Relax-Fuenlabrada, at 2:06
5. Domina Vacanze, at 2:10
ALSO
18. Canada, 8:19
WHAT’S NEXT
Stage 9
Seremban to Genting Highlands: 143.7km
Starting in Seremban, the first 117km are nearly dead flat, as the race heads for the mountains. Then it’s climb time, with 26.7km of brutally steep road before reaching the ultra-tacky Genting Highlands, dubbed the City of Entertainment. Unless you’re a fan of noisy, smoky casinos tucked into a confusing cluster of kitschy hotels, then there probably isn’t much to entertain you here. But the racing is always exciting, and this stage has decided the eventual winner in all seven previous renditions of the event. The last 10km average about 10 percent, and the steepest sections top out around 14.
