REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SIMPANG AMPEK -- Foreign bike racers were still showing domination in achieving the top positions on the first and second day of the 6th Tour de Singkarak (TdS) in Indonesian province of West Sumatra.

One of Iran's bike racers Hossein Alizadeh from Iran's TSR team won the 2nd stage of the TdS which took place in Simpang Ampek village on Sunday.

The cyclists taking part in the second stage (123.5 kms) on June 8, 2014, starting from Bonjol to Simpang Ampek in Pasaman Barat District, faced the challenging stage as it has a lot of climbs.

Hossein Alizadeh took three hours, 5 minutes, 31 seconds to win the race, followed by Arvin Moazemi Godarzi from Iran's PKY team in three hours, 6 minutes, 31 seconds and the third was taken by Amir Zargari of Iran's PKY team in three hours, 6 minutes, 31 seconds.

Rahim Emami from Iran's PYK team was at the fourth position in three hours, 6 minutes and 31 seconds.

Sajjad Sabouiri and Saeid Safarzadeh from Iran's SPT team, and Ramin Malekimizan from Iran's TPT team, who took three hours, 11 minutes and 31 seconds were respectively on the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Ramin Mehrbaniazar from Iran's PKY team, Dadi Suryadi from PCT Indonesia's team, and Alireza Asgharzadeh from Iran's TSR team were respectively on the eighth, the ninth and the tenth position.

Meanwhile, Dadi Suryadi from PCT Indonesia's team won the ASEAN (South East Asian Nations) racer category or wearing red white jersey, followed by Aiman Cahyadi from the INA Indonesia's team, and third was Agung Ali Syahbana from INA Indonesia's team.

The winner at the King of Mountain category with polka white jersey is Arvin Moazemi Godarzi from Iran's PKY team, followed by Junrey Navarra and Sajjad Sabouri from Iran's TPT team, respectively the second and third position.

At the Sprint competition wearing green jersey, the winner is Arvin Moazemi Gidarsi from Iran's PKY team with 15 points, followed by Ahmed Mirza Alhammadi from UAE team with 12 points and the third is Aiman Cahyadi from INA Indonesia team with 7 points.

In the meantime, the West Pasaman regent Baharuddin R said he was very grateful for the successful implementation of the TDS Stage II which received tremendous response from the public.

On the first day, Kohei Uchima, one of the Japanese racers in the TdS international bike race, that took place in Padang Pariaman District on Saturday, expressed his joy after winning the first stage.

"Earlier, I had failed to win, but now I can. I am very pleased with this result," the Japan Cycling Federation`s racer with the starting number 121 said.

According to him, the key to his victory was when he got into the group in front.

"Around five kilometers before the finish line, I broke away from the group and maintained my lead till the finish," Kohei Uchima said.

With the good results in the first stage, Kohei Uchima said he would focus on the next stage in order to retain the yellow shirt, making him the leader in the group.

Sharing his opinion, runner-up Ahmed Mirza Alhammadi Yosuif Mohamed from the United Arab Emirates Cycling Federation, said he would also use his achievement to improve in the second stage.

Twenty teams are taking part in the Tour de Singkarak international bike race in 2014, or the 6th of its kind, which is being held in West Sumatra from June 7 to 15.

The start of the annual racing event on Saturday (June 7) or first of nine stages, was preceded by a grand opening at Tiram Beach, Pariaman District on Friday evening (June 6), which was also attended by Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu.

Meanwhile, the 9th stage will finish in the provincial capital of Padang on June 15.

The participating countries in this year`s Tour de Singkarak are Malaysia, Tunisia, New Zealand, Thailand, Australia, Iran, Singapore, Argentina, Spain, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Netherlands, South Korea, United States, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, England, the Philippines, Morocco, Moldova, Japan and the host Indonesia.

This year, twenty teams of the Tour de Singkarak (TdS) including the foreign ones will pass through 18 districts/cities, including Pasaman Barat District which was excluded last year.

In 2013, the cyclists passed through 17 districts/cities in the province, namely the cities of Padang, Pariaman, Padang Panjang, Bukittinggi, Payakumbuh, Sawahlunto and Solok, then the districts of Padangpariaman, Agam, Pasaman, Tanah Datar, Limapuluh Kota, Solok, Pesisir Selatan, Sijunjung, Dharmasraya and Solok Selatan.

The event altogether extended over nine stages, during which the participants will cover 1,250 kilometers.

The West Sumatra provincial government has provided total prize money worth Rp1.3 billion or higher compared with that of Rp 1,2 billion last year.

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