PRUUS TAKES EMPHATIC OVERALL VICTORY AT THE TOUR OF BORNEO

An ecstatic Peeter celebrates while crossing the finishline

The double threat from Team 7 Eleven Philipines, taking second and third place in Kundasang

Peeter Pruus proves he's in good form

Stage 5 winners

Top 3 Best Asian Rider Classification

Top 3 King of the Mountains Classification 

Best Overall Team & Best Asian Team Classification winner

Top 3 Sprint Classification

Top 3 Overall Classification

Tour of Borneo 2015 Jersey Winners

KUNDASANG, 4 November 2015 : Peeter Pruus powered his way to a deserved overall win in the Tour of Borneo despite a strong push from Asian riders in the final stage today.

Pruus (Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team) was in control throughout the 181.1km stage from Kudat to the punishing high altitude terrain of Kundasang, winning in a time of five hours 19 minutes and 17 seconds.

Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines riders Mark John Lexer Galedo and Marcelo Felipe gave chase but were forced to settle for second and third in 5:19:22s and 5:20:31s.

The Estonian took the yellow jersey (general classification) with a total time of 16:16:27s and also bagged the red jersey (mountains classification), as many had anticipated.

The 26-year-old climber said it was the perfect way to end his season.

"This is the last race of the season for me and to end it with a win is just great," said Pruus.

"I did not know if I could win it at the start of the tour because I knew it would be tough here with the routes and the weather.

"But today I just felt really good and it all went to plan. I was aware that I needed to control seven other riders who were also in contention for the GC.

"But the team did their best to help me and I have to thank everyone."

Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki (Terengganu Cycling Team) finished seventh in the stage for fifth overall in the GC but managed to make the green jersey (points classification) his own. 

CCN Cycling Teams' Hari Fitranto (Ina) took the white jersey (Asian classification) as Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines won both the Asian and general team classification titles.

Hari, who finished fourth in the fifth stage and second in the GC, said he was disappointed to miss out on winning the yellow jersey but was grateful to emerge the best Asian.

"I tried to take the Yellow but Pruus was just too strong, I tried to drop him towards the end but he matched all my moves.

"It is still a decent achievement for me as I had only managed a top 10 finish overall in 2013 and to take the white jersey is also good."

The best overall team and best Asian team Classification went to 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines.

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31st October to 4th November 2015. 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.

Results--Stage five (Kudat to Kundasang 181.1km)

1 Peeter Pruus (Est) Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team 5:19:17s,

2 Mark John Lexer Galedo (Ph) Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines 5:19:22s,

3 Marcelo Felipe (Ph) Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines 5:20:31s,

4 Hari Fitrianto (Ina) CCN Cycling Team 5:20:31s,

5 Dadi Suryadi (Ina) Pegasus Continental Cycling Team (same as Fitrianto).

General classification (yellow jersey):

1 Peeter Pruus (Est) Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team 16:16:27s,

2 Hari Fitrianto (Ina) CCN Cycling Team +2:47s,

3 Mark John Lexer Galedo (Ph) Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines +3:16s,

4 Dadi Suryadi (Ina) Pegasus Continental Cycling Team +3:24s,

5 Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team +4:14s.

Asian classification (white jersey):

1 Hari Fitrianto (Ina) CCN Cycling Team 16:19:14s,

2 Mark John Lexer Galedo (Ph) Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines +29s,

3 Dadi Suryadi (Ina) Pegasus Continental Cycling Team +37s.

Points classification (green jersey):

1 Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team 38 pts (finished higher overall),

2 Marcelo Felipe (Ph) Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines 38pts,

3 Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Cycling team 35 pts.

Mountains classification (red jersey):

1 Peeter Pruus (Est) Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team 21pts,

2 Mark John Lexer Galedo (Ph) Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines 19pts,

3 Hari Fitrianto (Ina) CCN Cycling Team  10 pts.

General Asian team classificiation:

1 Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines 49:11:21s,

2 Pegasus Continental Cycling Team +18:57s,

3 Terengganu Cycling Team +43:49s.

General team classification:

1 Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines 49:11:21s,

2 Pegasus Continental Cycling Team +18:57s,

3 Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team +24:37s.

NUR AMIRUL GRABS OVERDUE STAGE WIN FOR TSG

Nur Amirul Fakhruddin wins stage 4 at Kudat

Stage 4 Winners

Jersey leaders after stage 4

KUDAT : Another exciting stage of the Tour of Borneo saw Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki emerging from the shadows of his more illustrious teammates to clinch an unexpected victory in stage four today.

The Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) rider crossed the line in three hours, 43 minutes and 36 seconds after covering 149.5km from Tuaran to Kudat. New Zealand's Thomas Hubbard (Data #3 Symantec Racing Team) and Peeter Pruus (Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team) finished second and third.

Pruus now leads the general classification but Nur Amirul is a close second, only 1:21s behind the Estonian as the Tour of Borneo moves into its final stage tomorrow.

Amirul has already achieved podium finishes at the Tour of Poyang Lake and Tour of Singkarak earlier this season and said he is happy to add another feather to his cap.

TSG's Mohd Harrif Saleh came close to winning a stage when finished third and second in stage two and three earlier in the Tour of Borneo.

"Obviously, I am really happy to get this win. To be honest, I did not set out today expecting to do it," said the 23-year-old, who is the first Malaysian to win a stage in the Tour of Borneo this year.

"Initially my role was to help Mohd Harrif win the stage but he felt tired after the climbs and told me to push ahead.

"It feels great to be second in the GC but I expect the fight for the yellow jersey to be tough tomorrow as there are a lot of good climbers.

"But I will try my best and we will see how things go."

Amirul's win saw him displace Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi (Police) as the Asian classification leader and will wear the white jersey in what is expected to be a grueling final stage.

Harrif's hopes of ending the tour with the green jersey are looking good as he took the lead in the sprints competition for a first time with a good showing in the intermediate sprints in stage four while Pegasus Continental Cycling Team's Agung Ali Sahbana took the red jersey from Pruus.

Stage five will see riders covering 181.1km, the longest in the Tour of Borneo, with a steep climb up to Kundasang (1,519m) set to put their endurance to the test. 

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31st October to 4th November 2015. 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.

NEILAND NAILS STAGE THREE AS HARIFF MISSES AGAIN

Neiland celebrates as he crosses the line at Kuala Penyu

Stage 3 Winners (L-R) : Hariff Saleh (TSG), Krists Neiland (RBD) and Jos Koop (CCN)

Jersey leaders after Stage 3

The peloton passes a magnificent view

KUALA PENYU, 2 November 2015 : Youngster Krists Neilands of Latvia bagged his first stage win in a UCI sanctioned race but it was more heartbreak for local star Mohd Harrif Saleh at the Tour of Borneo today.

Neilands (Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team) reveled in a wet third stage, which saw riders covering 149.7km from Menumbok to Kuala Penyu, taking a close victory in in three hours, 25 minutes and five seconds.

Mohd Hariff (Terengganu Cycling Team) and CCN cycling Team's Jos Koop (Netherlands) came in second and third in the sprint finish.

A visibly delighted Neilands said he is hoping to add another win under his belt in stage four which will cover 149.5km from Tuaran to Kudat.

"I am really happy as this is the first time I have won a stage in a UCI (sanctioned) tour," said the 21-year-old.

"We pushed ahead after 100km and the team set me up perfectly for the finish.

"I have to thank the team as I could not have done it without them. I also enjoyed the rain today as it made for a more comfortable race (less hot).

"Tomorrow (stage four) is also a fairly flat stage and I believe we will approach it the same as we did today. I hope for another sprint finish.

"I definitely want to keep winning and will try my best to do so."

Mohd Hariff, however, has also set his sights on getting it right in stage four.

"I am a bit disappointed as I have come quite close to winning a stage twice here," said the 27-year-old, who came in third in stage two.

"I have won a stage here before and I believe I can do it again. I will try my best to win tomorrow (stage four) for Malaysia and my team".

Neiland's teammate Peeter Pruus (Estonia) also enjoyed a victory of his own as he took charge of the red jersey from Fatahillah Abdullah (Indonesia National Team) after winning the king of the mountains in Tangulian during the stage.

But Australian Craig Evers (Data #3 Symantec Racing Team), Koop and Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi (Police) maintained their yellow, green and white jerseys respectively.

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31st October to 4th November 2015. 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.

KOOP PIPS RIVALS FOR SECOND STAGE WIN IN TOUR OF BORNEO

LABUAN, 1 November 2015 : Dutchman Jos Koop showed what he is capable of as he fended off Sea Games gold medalist Mohd Hariff Saleh among others to take the second stage of the Tour of Borneo yesterday.

Koop (CCN Cycling Team) felt the heat from not only the opposition but also the weather as he came out tops in the Labuan round island stage in three hours 10 minutes and 15 seconds, just ahead of Latvian Andris Smirnovs (Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team) and Mohd Hariff (Terengganu Cycling Team) in a bunch sprint finish.

The 27-year-old, who also bagged the green jersey (points classification) for his efforts, was happy he managed to emerge victorious despite the challenges faced.

"It was definitely a tough race, I am just not used to the hot conditions here," said Koop.

"I am glad I managed to keep up and get myself in a good position towards the end. I want to keep this (green) jersey until the end but I know I will have to fight for it. There are still another three stages and I know it will get tougher from here."

Mohd Hariff said he was slightly disappointed not to take the win but is hoping to make amends in the remaining three stages of the Tour of Borneo.

"My positioning was not that great towards the end and I had to work hard to get myself in the right place," said Mohd Hariff, who is arguably the best Malaysian sprinter at the moment.

"By the time I did (get into position) I had lost my momentum and was already a little tired in the final sprint.

"But it is still a decent result and I will try to do better tomorrow." He added.

Time trial winner Craig Evers (Data #3 Symantec Racing Team) of Australia and Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi both kept their yellow (general classification) and white (Asian classification) jerseys despite finishing 23rd and 20th in the stage. Fatahillah Abdullah (Indonesia national team) took charge of the red jersey (mountains classification).

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31st October to 4th November 2015. 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.

EVERS TAKES EARLY LEAD AT TOUR OF BORNEO

Labuan ITT Stage winners 

Muhammad Fauzan Ahmad Lufti of PDRM leads the Asian Rider classification

Craig Evers of Data#3 Symatec Racing Team leads the overall classification 

LABUAN, 31 October 2015 : Hot and windy conditions on the Labuan Island gave riders a challenging welcome to the Tour of Borneo but Australian Craig Evers and local hero Muhammad Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi both rose to the occasion to take the yellow and white jersey on the opening day.

Evers, who rides for Data #3 Symantec Racing Team, is known to be a time trial specialist and lived up to his billing as he took the 27.2km stage one time trial comfortably after clocking 36 minutes and 35.304 seconds.

Latvians Krists Neilands and Armands Becis (Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team) came in second and third on 37:37.576s and 37:42.262s respectively.

Evers, who competed in the Tour of Poyang Lake (China) in September, said it was a physically challenging stage from the onset.

"It is very, very hot here compared to Canberra (where he is from), even during the warm up I was sweating buckets," said the 25-year-old.

"I started well, however, I was struggling with the wind towards the end of the race. Obviously everyone faced the same thing, this is the nature of the individual time trial.

"I have been preparing for this stage for some time and I just stuck to my plan and it paid off in the end.

"We have the yellow jersey now and it would be good to defend that. I will discuss with the team how to go about tomorrow (stage two) and give it the respect that it deserves.

"I am going to give it (stage two) a good crack and we will see how it goes."

Fauzan, who is competing for the Polis Diraja Malaysia Team, emerged the best Asian rider after clocking 37:56.592s for fourth and will wear the white jersey in stage two.

The 29-year-old said he was happy to achieve his target of placing in the top five in stage one.

"I did pretty well in the first 10km but went off my target pace from then on due to the wind," said Fauzan.

"It was a bit tricky as there were both crosswinds and headwinds, if I was able to maintain my pace I would have been good for a spot on the podium.

"But I am still happy with the result and hopefully I can keep the white jersey tomorrow (stage two)."

Riders will cover 138.9km in stage two which will see them doing three laps of 46.3km around the Labuan Island.

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31^st October to 4^th November 2015. 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.

RIDERS READY FOR BORNEO SPECTACLE

Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG)

Organising Chairman Dato' Fredie Sua welcoming the teams, officials & media to Tour of Borneo 2015.

Data #3 Symantec Racing Team

LABUAN, 31 October 2015 : The stage is set for another exciting edition of the Tour of Borneo with some of the most formidable teams in the region ready to battle it out for honours over the scenic and highly challenging terrain of Sabah.

The tour kicks off with a 27.2 kilometre time trial in Labuan with much at stake for teams hoping to do well. The five-stage Tour of Borneo will see riders covering a total distance of 646.4km through Labuan, Menumbok, Kuala Penyu, Tuaran, Kudat and Kundasang.

Pegasus Continental Cycling Team of Indonesia, which won the overall team at Le Tour de Langkawi earlier this year are one of the teams expected to contend. Team coach Giacomo Notari of Italy is optimistic of a strong outing in Sabah.

"The target for every team is to win the tour, and it is no different for us," said Notari.

"We have some good time trial specialists and also climbers in the team and I believe we can do well in the first stage and last stage from Kudat to Kundasang.

"What is important is that we watch out for any breakaways in all the other stages and I believe we will have a chance."

Singapore Sea Games time trial gold medalist Robin Manullang is part of the Pegasus squad in Sabah while Dadi Suryadi is also strong in the event. Notari expects Odie Purnama Setiawan to excel in the mountaineous region of Kundasang.

Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG), Team 7-Eleven Roadbike Phillipines, Data #3 Symantec Racing Team p/b Scody (Aus), Rietumu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team (Latvia) and CCN Cycling Team (Laos) are the other continental teams expected to do well in the Tour of Borneo. Teams from eight countries are competing this year.

TSG's Mohd Harrif Saleh said he is expecting the competition to be stiff.

"I came here straight from the Tour of Hainan where Rietmu-Delfin were also competing," said Mohd Harrif.

"From what I saw there (in Hainan) they are a very strong team and will be dangerous if they can perform to the same level here."

Organising Chairman Dato’ Fredie Sua said he was happy to be able to bring together another edition of the Tour of Borneo. The event was not held last year.

"I am very grateful to be able to stage this tour again. It is a great opportunity for us to show what we can actually show to the world how our country, and Sabah is," said Fredie at the team presentation dinner yesterday.

"Despite all the challenges faced, we have managed to organise another edition of the race thanks to the strong determination and teamwork we showed."

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31^st October to 4^th November 2015. 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.