spot_img
28.1 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Aussie wins stage, but Kazakh is overall champ

- Advertisement -

LEGAZPI City—Kazakh rider Oleg Zemlyakov did not exert too much effort Sunday in the 160.2-km. Stage 4 of the 2016 Le Tour de Filipinas here, allowing Australian Timothy Guy to find an opportunity to grab stage honors with his aggressive moves in the last 10 kilometers.

Zemlyakov didn’t have to, as he stuck it out with the main peloton from start to finish and got help from teammates Yevgeniy Gidich and Zhandos Bhizghitov as they protected the advantage they earned over the two previous days.

Their efforts paid off.  The 22-year-old rider from Kazakhstan eventually took home the top honors in the individual general classification, while Vino 4-Ever SKO grabbed the team crown.

Kazakh rider Oleg Zemlyakov (left) sets the pace during the final stage of the 2016 Le Tour de Filipinas, won by Australian Timothy Guy (inset).

Checking in with a time of three hours, 53 minutes and one second, Zemlyakov made it to the provincial capitol finish line tied from fifth to 33rd places. He had an overall time of 17 hour, 36 minutes and 23 seconds, 19 seconds ahead of teammate Gidich and 21 seconds in front of Mongolian Bathmunk Maral-Erdene.

“From the start, I told them there will be no attack. Just control the race,” said Vino 4Ever SKO coach Sergey Danniker.

- Advertisement -

With his first title conquest in Asia, Zemlyakov, according to Danniker, is being considered to be a part of Team Astana, one of their elite teams back in Kazakstan. The Le Tour champ could also eventually find himself joining the Tour de France next year.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Guy did not wait for the sprint stage to come along as he and Attaque Team Gusto teammate Cameron Bayly went on the attack in the last five kilometers in Bicol Memorial Park.

They ended up having a 1-2 finish, with Guy submitting a clocking of 3:52.50 and Bayly behind by nine seconds, with Korean Jang Jung Sae.

“I told the boys not wait for the sprints and attack inside the last 10 kilometers. The guys listened to me and did exactly that,” said Tomas Polajanec after his riders received their trophies from Albay governor Joey Salceda.

Zemlyakov’s carbon fiber alloy bike’s brake shifter may have been busted in the last 30-kms, along roads around the majestic Mayon Volcano.

But he and his teammates reached the finish line together with a 33-man group, which also included with Cebu Kopiko’s Ronnel Hualda, national team rider Rustom Lim and team 7-Eleven’s Jesse James Ewart.

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles