EMPHATIC WIN FOR TABRIZ, ANUAR TAKES SPRINT TITLE

PENAMPANG, Thursday 22 August 2013 - Iran's Tabriz Petrochemical Team (TPT) swept three titles after Mehdi Sohrabi added another stage win to their collection in the final stage of the Tour of Borneo 2013 from Kundasang to Penampang today.

Veteran Ghader Mizbani, 38, secured the overall general classification title after finishing in the seven-man breakaway that resulted in Sohrabi taking victory ahead of Uzbekistan's Ruslan Kadimov and Huon Salmon-Genesys' Joseph Cooper.

That wasn't all. Tabriz secured the top 2 spots in the final general classification with Mirsamad Pourseyedigolakhour finishing behind Mizbani, who also won the mountains and Asian riders' classifications.

The Iranian team also won the overall teams title by a massive 16-minutes advantage over second placed Huon Salmon-Genesys of Australia.

Tabriz had controlled the proceedings from the opening stage, even holding taking an early win through Sohrabi in Stage Three, before the race hit the decisive Stage Four, which featured the tough climbs up Gunung Emas and Kundasang.

"We had targeted Stage Four so we had prepared for that and we attacked according to plan. Today, we saw a chance for a breakaway and we tried to get another win as a bonus," said Mizbani.

"Our team was strong and well-prepared for this race. So, I'm happy with our performance. We now lead the UCI Asia Tour teams' standings, but not the individual rankings, so that is our next target."

Tabriz's performance was on another planet, as they showed today in having four riders in the seven-man breakaway - Mizbani, Sohrabi, Hossein Askari and Pourseyedigolakhour.

"We know our level is higher than most of the other Asian teams and we should be racing in Europe or America, but there are some political issues in that. Because of sanctions against Iran, it is impossible for us to get visas to enter most countries outside of Asia, so we are limited to racing in the UCI Asia Tour," said Mizbani.

"I am sure that with our level, we should be able to even win some big races in Europe, and we won't have problems getting invited. The only problem is, because we are Iranian, getting visas would be impossible."

Synergy-Baku Cycling Project's Anuar Manan was the only rider to deny Tabriz a clean sweep of titles when he barely managed to take the points classification victory by a single point over Sohrabi.

"For me this was a race where I was making my comeback, after a long lay-off due to my back injury. So, I had planned to use this to get back into form. Winning the points classification is just a bonus for me, as I still have some way to go before I reach my peak form again," said Anuar.

"I still haven't won a stage and my team have targeted the Tour of China in October for me to do that, so I want to ensure I am back on form by then."

Mehdi Sohrabi in great form takes the final stage in Penampang

Anuar steals the green jersey from an almost clean sweep by Ghader Mizbani (Asian, KOM & Yellow) 

Tabriz Petrochemical takes the best Asian team and Overall Team classification

MIZBANI AND POURSEYEDIGOLAKHOUR DEMOLISH ALL OPPOSITION IN MASSIVE MOUNTAIN STAGE VICTORY

Ghader Mizbani takes the stage win, the Asian, KOM and Yellow jerseys

Today's winners at Kundasang

Jersey leaders after today's stage

KUNDASANG, Wednesday  21 August 2013 - Tabriz Petrochemical's Ghader Mizbani emerged with a devastating victory in much anticipated Stage Four of the Tour of Borneo 2013, featuring the gruelling climb up to Kundasang today, to grab the overall lead, the Asian riders' classification and the king of the mountains leads.

The 38-year old Iranian, who escaped from the peloton with teammate Mirsamad Pourseyedigolakhour at the foot of the first category climb to Gunung Emas, completed the 147.1km stage in four hours 31 minutes and 51 seconds with both teammates crossing the finish line in the same time.

The Tabriz pair finished six minutes and 25 seconds ahead of third placed Joseph Cooper of Huon Salmon-Genesys, to register a massive lead in the general classification which is unlkely to be threatened in the final stage from Kundasang to Penampang tomorrow.

Malaysia's Anuar Manan of the Synergy-Baku Cycling Project, retained the green jersey as the points classification leader although he failed to add any points in the intermediate sprint in Tambunan today.

Making their debut in the Tour of Borneo after missing out on the race last year, Tabriz were hardly threatened, although Huon Salmon-Genesys rider Nathan Earle, last year's runner-up was expected to provide a stern challenge after winning the stage to Kundasang last year.

Tabriz's intentions were clear right from the moment they controlled the race to keep the peloton together and their attack at the foot of Gunung Emas.

Though chased by a pack of 10 riders, including Cooper, Earle and Synergy-Baku's John Ebsen, Mizbani and Mirsamad continued to pull a gap that extended to more than 10 minutes when they approached the intermediate sprint in Tambunan.

"This is our first time entering Tour of Borneo and we have never rode this route before. But because there were two difficult climbs, we wanted to be in front. The first climb to Gunung Emas was very difficult but we made an early attack to ensure victory," said Mizbani.

"This was out targeted stage and today was good for Tabriz because all our riders managed to do their job well," added Mizbani, who has now collected 30 points in the mountains classification.

On his advantage of 6 minutes 25 seconds over closer rival Cooper, entering the final stage from Kundasang to Penampang tomorrow, Mizbani said the big gap doesn't necessarily guarantee the yellow jersey will remain in their hands as anything could happen.

"We will still be careful tomorrow (Stage 5) because anything can happen, like accidents or mechanical problems," said Mizbani.

Meanwhile, Anuar went through an anxious moment when he was involved in a small accident right as the race was flagged off for the actual start at kilometre zero, when he crashed into the race director's car and suffered light injuries and mechanical problems.

He still maintains a 16-point advantage over closest rival Mehdi Sohrabi (Tabriz) in the points classification after managing to continue the race despite pain in his hands, knees and ankles.

"I hope I will be able to ride as normal tomorrow because it is important for me to continue collecting points at intermediate sprints and challenge for the stage victory. I hope the damage to my bicycle will not affect my chances," said Anuar, 27.

The best ranked Malaysian on the day was Loh Sea Keong (OCBC Singapore) who finished 17th, 18 minutes and 35 seconds behind Mizbani, while two other riders failed to finish the stage, meaning just 96 riders will start the final stage tomorrow.

Tabriz also strengthened their position in the teams classification with a total time of 45 hours 59 minutes and 09 seconds, more than 15 minutes ahead of Genesys.

The final stage tomorrow will cover 98km from Kundasang to Penampang will be the final chance for challengers to wrest their targeted jerseys, but the short route and flat finish is expected to see all four jerseys remain with the same riders.

TERENGGANU-BORN RIDERS DOMINATE PODIUM, SOHRABI RETAINS YELLOW JERSEY

Harrif proves he's the best today

All top 3 today winners hails from Terengganu

The jersey leaders after stage 3

KOTA KINABALU, Tuesday 20 August 2013 - Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) sprinter Harrif Saleh took victory in Stage Three of the Tour of Borneo 2013 from Penampang to Kota Kinabalu today, while Tabriz Petrochemical's Mehdi Sohrabi successfully retained the yellow jersey although he finished fourth.

It was a much awaited victory for Harrif and his team after missing out on bunch sprints at the finishes of the opening two stages. 

Harrif and his elder brother Zamri, who finished third, worked well together to deny Synergy-Baku's Anuar Manan right on the finish line to finish the 132.6km stage ahead of the peloton in 3 hours 20 minutes and 39 seconds.

Anuar, who continued to display improvements after finishing second in the stage, was still smiling after managing to consolidate his lead in the points classification after adding another 16 points for a 44 points total, 16 points ahead of Sohrabi in that classification.

The red jersey for the king of the mountains switched to Indonesia's Endra Wijaya of CCC after he collected 4 points at the sole categorised climb in Tamparuli to equal LBC's Junrey Navarra, OCBC Singapore's Loh Sea Keong and his own teammate Agung Ali Shahbana atop the mountains classification.

The short and flat stage was undeniably ideal for the TSG gameplan and they executed a successful tactical move to dominate the bunch sprint through Harrif.

"In the first two stages our plans didn't work out because of the hills and some breakaways, which made it difficult for us. I was also unlucky yesterday because I had a mechanical problem and had to use a spare bike," said Harrif.

"But today we rode well. Eventhough Mehdi made an early move, we had my teammate Saiful Anuar Abdul Aziz follow him. I didn't panic as I knew Mehdi would run out of energy. Then I followed Anuar and managed to overtake him at the finish line," added Harrif, who added his second win of the season after winning a stage in the Jelajah Malaysia.

As soon as the stage began at the Dewan Majlis Daerah Penampang, three riders Wijata, Mohd Rauf Nor Misbah (Malaysia) and Chang Wei Kei (RTS) made a breakaway attempt and conquered the first intermediate sprint in Sepangar and the climb at Tamparuli.

Although they were 4 minutes ahead, they were caught by the peloton before Rustom Lim (LBC) made a solo attack on the descent from the hills and was almost two minutes ahead before he was caught by a peloton led by Tabriz with 15km to go.

Tabriz worked hard to catch a group of 8 riders who made a last ditch attempt at a breakaway, before Mehdi tried his move, similar to when he won Stage Two in Papar yesterday, by launching a late attack inside the final 10 kilometres.

However, Mehdi's move didn't work this time as the peloton surged ahead and caught him in the final 50 metres.

"That's cycling. Sometimes our tactics work, sometimes they don't," said Mehdi, before adding that Tabriz will now focus on the mountain stage up to Kundasang at the foot of Mount Kinabalu tomorrow, where either Ghader Mizbani or Hossein Askari are expected to go for the overall victory.

Meanwhile, Anuar said he did not get help from his teammates in the final kilometres and had to make his move on his own, before being overtaken by Harrif at the finish line.

"Without the help of my teammate, I had to work on the sprint alone and was forced to launch my sprint early and I failed because TSG had many riders in the front, giving them an advantage.

"I am still satisfied because I managed to consolidate my position in the points classification with more points and I will try to add to that tomorrow," said Anuar, who is just coming back from a lengthy lay-off due to a back injury.

Three riders failed to finish today's stage, leaving 98 starters for the penultimate stage tomorrow.

Stage 4 of the Tour of Borneo 2013 from Kota Kinabalu to Kundasang is the decider which includes a catrgory 1 climb at Gunusg Emas and an intermediate sprint at Tambunan, before the finish line in Kundasang.

SOHRABI FIRES EARLY TABRIZ WARNING

Mehdi out-sprints the bunch to take the win

Papar's top 3 winners

Yellow, Blue and Green changes hands after today's stage

PAPAR, Monday 19 August 2013 - Iran's Mehdi Sohrabi fired favourites Tabriz Petrochemical into the driving seat after taking victory in Stage Two, while grabbing the overall general classifcation lead in the Tour of Borneo 2013 today.

Sohrabi, 32, made a last ditch successful breakaway attempt to end the longest stage of this edition of the Tour of Borneo covering 189.5km from Tanjung Aru to Papar.

After an early breakaway of six riders that saw Anuar Manan of the Synergy-Baku Cycling Project sweep top spot in all three intermediate sprints en route to taking over the points classification lead from Corbusier's Paul van der Ploeg, was caught with 50km to go, it first looked certain for another bunch sprint finish.

But Sohrabi had other ideas after tagging along in a 10-man breakaway in the final 10 kilometres before launching a solo attack in the final five kilometres which only LBC's Ronald Lomotos managed to follow. Lomotos barely managed to keep second spot as the peloton rushed in with Tabriz's Hossein Nateghi leading to take third spot right behind the Filipino.

"I was feeling good and my legs felt very good in the final kilometres of the race, so I decided to have a go in the breakaway. It was okay for me to go because our team had our sprinter Hossein Nateghi in the bunch waiting to pounce if it came to a bunch sprint," said Sohrabi, who spent last season riding with Belgian UCI Pro Team Lotto-Belisol.

  

"In the final five kilometres I was still feeling good, so I thought I could go alone for the victory and I saw the rider from LBC followed me. I am happy to have taken the win, as our team came here targeting the overall victory.

  

"We are not going to wait until the fourth stage, the climb up to Kundasang because in cycling anything can happen. There are other strong riders in this race, who could go for the win as well and anything an happen in the race, like crashes or punctures. So it was good for us to take the yellow jersey today."

  

Sohrabi leads the general classification by just four seconds ahead of Corbusier's van der Ploeg, the winner of Stage One on Sunday. Australian van der Ploeg also lost his points classification lead to Anuar, with an exciting battle between the two awaiting ahead with Anuar of 26 points and van der Ploeg just a point behind.

  

Anuar said he went out in the breakaway to take the points in the three intermediate sprints today to put himself into contention for the points classification, but will now focus on getting his first win in the UCI Asia Tour since December 2011.

  

"I am just returning after a long lay-off due to a back injury, so I was planning to enter this race to train and recover my form. But now, I think I'll try to push as well. Since I have a chance I want to go for the points classification win, but there are big points at the finish line as well," said Anuar.

  

"So maybe it would be better to focus on the finish and not the intermediate sprints, so from tomorrow we'll just try to control the race and watch for those high in the points classification, not to allow them to breakaway and close in on the points. It has been a long time, so I want to try and get a victory as well."

  

Stage Three of the Tour of Borneo 2013 tomorrow will be from Penampang to Kota Kinabalu, covering a route of 132.6km.

AUSSIE GIANT DELIVERS FIRST EVER WIN FOR CORBUSIER

Today's winner in Tuaran

The leaders after stage 1

Saufi and Paul battle it out in Tuaran

The flag-off at 1Borneo

Tough climbs on the first day

KOTA KINABALU, 18 August 2013 - Giant Paul van der Ploeg delivered an historic win for Sarawak's Team Corbusier after beating Terengganu Cycling Team's Saufi Mat Senan in a photo finish at the end of Stage One of the Tour of Borneo 2013, covering 112 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu to Tuaran today.

Standing a massive 6 feet and 7 inches tall, van der Ploeg is surprsingly only the second tallest rider in this second edition of the Tour of Borneo, behind teammate Razif Salleh, but that was the least important statistic when the 23-year old Australian delivered Team Corbusier's first ever victory in the UCI Asia Tour.

"It's also my first ever win in the UCI Asia Tour after several close calls. I got some top 10 finishes and podiums in the Tour of Thailand and the Jelajah Malaysia, but this is the sweetest," said van der Ploeg, the reigning under-23 cross country mountain bike world champion.

The win also gave van der Ploeg the overall lead and the green jersey for the points classification lead, which he admitted wasn't part of the team's plans.

The stage started off with several attacks going off the front of the peloton, although the peloton wasn't eager to let any of them get too far away. A three-man attack comprising Corbusier's Daniel Bonello, LBC's Ronald Oranza and 7-Eleven's Mark John Lexer Galedo was the only breakaway that was allowed to open over a minute's gap midway through the stage.

But they were brought back together as a decisive lead group formed shortly before the second categorised climb of the day in Tenghilan. The double climb across Tenghilan which saw two categorised climbs in the opposite directions contested, saw LBC's Junrey Navarra take the lead in the mountains classification with four points at the end of the stage.

"It wasn't too difficult a climb, so I was able to go for it comfortably," said Navarra, 21.

Van der Ploeg said he was dropped as the front of the peloton sped up both climbs but managed to work hard to catch up both times, before manning his way to the front and challenging in the sprint for the finish line.

"It was really a tough day, made worse by the extreme heat. I came here two days ago from the Ausralian winter with temperatures under 5 degress celsius, and here we have almost 40 degrees and extreme humidity, so it was still quite a shock to my system," said van der Ploeg.

"I had to really work hard to catch the front group again after I was dropped both times at the climb. So when I managed to get to the front, I was thinking to myself whether this was really happening, especially when I crossed the finish line. I still didn't know whether I'd won or not, but then I found that I did."

The win means Team Corbusier will have the burden of defending the yellow jersey beginning Stage Two tomorrow, but van der Ploeg said his teammates were up for it.

"The boys showed we were serious today. In virtually every breakaway that went, we had riders in it. Then in the final one, I was there with Bonello. It will be difficult, but we have this bonus of the yellow jersey that comes with winning the first stage of the Tour, so I think my teammates are up for it, so we're going to give it a shot," said van der Ploeg.

Only just missing out on the win to van der Ploeg, Saufi was pleased with his form, having been out of action since April. But he has the blue jersey as the leader of the Asian riders' classification, which would be something the Terengganu Cycling Team will work to defend as well.

"It feels got this result, despite being out of action for a few months. There are some really strong contenders for the Asian riders' classification, but of course we will try to defend it and keep this jersey."

The Tour of Borneo continues with a longer day in the saddle for everybody, with Stage Two tomorrow covering 189.5 kilometres from Tanjung Aru to Papar.

20 STRONG TEAM LINE-UP CONFIRMED FOR TOUR OF BORNEO 2013

Team Corbusier Sarawak

Huon Salmon-Genesys

OCBC Singapore

Sabah Team

Synergy-Baku Cycling Project

Tabriz Petrochemical Team

Terengganu Cycling Team

KOTA KINABALU, 15 August 2013 - A 20-strong line-up of teams led by Jelajah Malaysia overall team champions Synergy-Baku Cycling Project and defending UCI Asia Tour overall team champions Terengganu Cycling Team are set to start the second edition of the Tour of Borneo this Sunday, August 18, 2013.

Also present will be Iran's Tabriz Petrochemical Team, who will start as favourites with former UCI Asia Tour overall individual champions Ghader Mizbani, Mehdi Sohrabi and Hossein Askari in their ranks, in an impressive start list that feature 10 UCI Continental teams.

In announcing the confirmation of participating teams, Tour of Borneo organising chairman Dato' Fredie Sua highlighted that a new overall champion is set to be crowned in the absence of defending champion Michael Torckler of New Zealand and his Pure Black Racing Team.

"We expect a more competitive race this year with what is a stronger field with 10 Continental teams and four strong national teams, including our own Malaysian national team. We always expect national teams like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to be strong and they might even challenge the supremacy of the Continental teams," said Dato' Fredie

Along with the 10 Continental Teams and four national teams, comes the challenge of six club and state teams, led by Indonesia's Customs Cycling Team and a strong Royal Malaysian Police Team which won the overall Malaysian teams' classification in the Jelajah Malaysia in June.

The island of Borneo this time will be represented by two teams - the Sabah state team and Sarawak's Team Corbusier, who made their international debut in the Jelajah Malaysia.

"We have an exciting line-up of teams, no doubt about that. The field is very well balanced with mainly established teams with experienced riders, while it will be interesting to see how the teams from Borneo adapt to this high level of competition, since road cycling is still fledgling over here, unlike in West Malaysia," said Dato' Fredie.

"This is the whole idea, we need to give cycling sufficient exposure in this part of the country and to get the people interested in the sport. Who knows, from here we might soon discover potential cycling stars of the future." He added.

TEAM LIST FOR TOUR of BORNEO 2013 :

CONTINENTAL

Synergy Baku Cycling Team (Azerbaijan)

Terengganu Cycling Team (Malaysia)

Tabriz Petrochemical Team (Iran)

CCN Cycling Team (Brunei)

OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team (Singapore)

Huon Salmon Genesys Wealth Advisers Pro Cycling  (Australia)

Team 7 Eleven Presented By Road Bike Philippines (Philippines)

Team LBC (Philippines)

Polygon Sweet Nice (Ireland)

RTS Racing Team (Taiwan)

NATIONAL

Malaysia National Team (Malaysia)

Uzbekistan National Team (Uzbekistan)

Kazakhstan National Team (Kazakhstan)

Bahrain National Team (Bahrain)

STATE

Sabah (Malaysia)

Terengganu (Malaysia)

CLUB

Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (Malaysia)

Polis Diraja Malaysia (Malaysia)

Team Corbusier Sarawak (Malaysia)

Customs Cycling Club (Indonesia)

The second edition of Tour of Borneo will be held from 18^th to 22^nd August 2013, covering the west coast of Sabah. The 2.2 category Tour is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and is listed in UCI Asian Tour calendar, it is hoped to promote Sabah as the ultimate sports tourism destination in Malaysia, and promote cycling in the state.

JELAJAH MALAYSIA CHAMPION OPTIMISTIC ABOUT CHANCES IN TOUR OF BORNEO

Jelajah Malaysia 2013 winner Loh Sea Keong remains optimistic about his chances

The OCBC Singapore Team

KOTA KINABALU, Tuesday 13 August  - Loh Sea Keong is a far more recognizable figure around Malaysia after his historic triumph in the Jelajah Malaysia in June, when he became the first Malaysian rider ever to win a UCI Asia Tour race overall title.

The 27-year old has spent the time since his historic win out of the limelight, opting to race in track events in Bangkok in between relaxing on some of the many sun-drenched beaches in Southern Thailand.

But the OCBC Singapore rider remains optimistic about his chances as he heads to Kota Kinabalu to take the start of the second edition of the Tour of Borneo from August 18 to 22.

"It has been just 'R n R' (rest and recovery) for me after the Jelajah Malaysia and the Tour of Borneo is like the first race of the season again," said Sea Keong, who hails from Kuala Krai in Kelantan.

Expectations will be high on Sea Keong's shoulders when he takes to the start of the Tour of Borneo, with many local followers of the sport now looking to him to deliver results after going through what has been the most successful season of his career thus far with two stage wins in the Tours of Singkarak and Thailand coming before he bagged the Jelajah Malaysia overall title.

Sea Keong is, by some margin, Malaysia's most successful cyclist this year.

"I know the expectations are high, but I've not allowed this to get to my head. Another overall win would be hard with the profile of the Tour of Borneo including some hard climbs and there is the likes of Ghader Mizbani and the Tabriz Petrochemical team, who will be strong there," said Sea Keong.

Vital to his victory in the Jeajah Malaysia was the selfless commitment each member of his OCBC Singapore team towards ensuring Sea Keong kept the yellow jersey after taking it on the second stage and the same will be promised this time should the opportunities arise again.

Sea Keong will again have close friend and compatriot Ahmad Haidar Anuawar alongside him in the OCBC team for the Tour of Borneo, along with reliable Singaporeans Goh Choon Huat, Ho Junrong and Low Ji Wen, while the unpredictable and experienced Thai Puchong Saiudomsin completes their squad.

"We'll approach it stage by stage. If the opportunities arise again, I will be up there. For sure, I want another shot at an overall victory," said Sea Keong.

Tour of Borneo Organising chairman Dato’ Fredie Sua is expecting good results from Loh Sea Keong with his OCBC Singapore teammates. “After witnessing his (Sea Keong) amazing performance in Jelajah Malaysia last June, I know they have something great in store for us, we’ll just wait and see.” He added.

OCBC SINGAPORE CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM LINE-UP FOR TOUR OF BORNEO :

LOH Sea Keong (MAS), ANUAWAR Ahmad Haidar (MAS), GOH Choon Huat (SIN), HO Junrong (SIN), LOW Jiwen (SIN) and SIUDOMSIN Phuchong (THA)

The race which will be officiated by Minister of Youth and Sports Sabah, YB Datuk Taufiq DSP Abu Bakar Titingan is scheduled be held from 18^th to 22^nd August 2013, covering the west coast of Sabah. The 2.2 category Tour is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and is listed in UCI Asian Tour calendar, it is hoped to promote Sabah as the ultimate sports tourism destination in Malaysia, and promote cycling in the state.

SYNERGY-BAKU LOOKS FORWARD TO ANOTHER STRONG OUTING IN MALAYSIA

Anuar Manan returns to the racing scene and into his first race after a back injury

Synergy Baku is a fired up for their debut at Tour of Borneo

KOTA KINABALU, Friday 2 August 2013 - The Synergy-Baku Cycling Project, Azerbaijan's first everprofessional cycling outfit, have had a thus far exciting start to their campaign, especially in UCI Asia Tour races and more so in Malaysia, wherethey've registered stage wins and were within a whisker of capturing the Jelajah Malaysia overall title through Kyril Podznyakov in May.

And now,the team will be looking towards another successful outing in Malaysia whenthey debut in the Tour of Borneo, aiming for another strong finish.

"We'reback in Malaysia again, a country that has been good to us for results thisyear, with (John) Ebsen's high overall at Le Tour de Langkawi, decent placingsat Melaka Cup and two stage wins at the recent Jelajah Malaysia, we'd belooking for the same at Tour of Borneo," said team director David McQuaid.

Making areturn after sitting out the Jelajah Malaysia with a back injury is local hopeAnuar Manan, who the team can count on in the bunch sprints. The 27-year old Anuar will also be making his debut in the race, after missing the inauguraledition last year.

"We welcome back Anuar to the team also, having not raced since FlËche du Sud in early May due to a back injury. I hope he can settle in and gradually improveand get ready for Tour of China in September where the course has many sprint finishes," said McQuaid.

The teamwill start with another sprinter Rico Rogers of New Zealand, while Danish rider Ebsen will become the only rider in the squad to have competed in all fourinternational races hosted by Malaysia this year.

"From the 6 man team taking to the start line at the Tour of Borneo, Rico Rogers is probably the man on form. Alex, John, Agshin and David all picked up minorillnesses at Qinghai that they are shaking off but Rico came out of the Tourthere in fine form so a stage win or two from Rico at Tour of Borneo would notcome as too much of a surprise for me," said McQuaid.

ToB organising chairman Dato’ Fredie Sua expressed his excitement on Synergy-Baku team’s confirmation for the second edition. “We are pleased to welcome Synergy Bakuteam to Sabah for the very first time, with their outstanding results in LeTour de Langkawi and Jelajah Malaysia I am sure they will give their very best here.”

SYNERGY-BAKU CYCLING PROJECT LINE-UPFOR TOUR OF BORNEO:

AnuarManan (MAS), Rico Rogers (AUS), John Ebsen (DEN), Alex Surutkovich (UKR), DavidClarke (GBR), Agshin Ismayilov (AZE).

The second edition of Tour of Borneo will be held from 18^th to 22^nd August 2013, covering the west coast of Sabah. The 2.2 categoryTour is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and is listed inUCI Asian Tour calendar, it is hoped to promote Sabah as the ultimate sport stourism destination in Malaysia, and promote cycling in the state.