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PURWOKERTO - Irishman David McCann won the second stage of the 2005 Dji Sam Soe Tour d'Indonesia Tuesday in a time of five hours, two minutes and fifty-one seconds. McCann attacked his Indonesian breakaway companion in the final metres of the race to take the win on the streets of Purwokerto. The stage showcased the impressive strength of McCann's team, Giant Asia Racing, which managed to place all of its' riders in the decisive move of the day. Giant rider Paul Griffin finished third on Tuesday, while his Iranian teammates Hossein Askari and Ghader Mizbani finished in fifth and ninth place on the stage, respectively. Griffin and Askari now hold down first and second positions in the general classification.
"We are really strong," said McCann of his team. "We're in a good position. But there is a long way to go in this race, and anything can happen."
The 187 kilometre second stage began in the coastal town of Cirebon and followed long straight roads along the sea, until finally turning inland towards the days' principle difficulty, a first-category climb. After the climb, the riders faced a rapid 20 kilometre descent followed by a 25 kilometre mostly-flat run in to the finish in Purwokerto.
Only 78 riders took the start in Cirebon, after five riders failed to finish stage one and a sixth rider chose not to start. Conditions at the start were predictable – sunny, hot and humid!
Despite the heat and the looming threat of the climb, Rhyan Tanguilig of the Casino Filipino Pro Cycling Team went on the attack early. Tanguilig slowly built his lead over the main pack, and took the first hot spot sprint of the day at the 68 kilometre mark. Approaching the base of the days' major climb some sixty kilometers later, Tanguilig was still out in front alone, and he had built a massive lead of nine minutes over a lethargic main pack - but a couple of chase groups were fast catching up. The Filipino rider held on long enough to take the second hot spot sprint before being caught and passed by Dutch climber Maint Berkenbosch riding for The Jong en Loan. Berkenbosch then charged up the climb alone, while a chase group of about ten riders pursued him, including the yellow jersey Griffin and his entire Giant Asia Racing Team, and Indonesian rider Ryan Ariehan of Dodol Picnic. Berkenbosch managed to stay away up the climb and he crested the summit alone to take the only King-of-the-Mountains points of the day. He then plummeted down the descent to Purwokerto, hoping for a solo stage win. But the chase group, lead by Giant, were too strong, and they finally reeled in Berkenbosch as the race began the run into Purwokerto. In the final three kilometers, Ariehan put in a massive attack on the rest of the group that only McCann could respond to. The two riders worked together and managed to stay clear of the group – just - until the final kilometre, where McCann jumped Ariehan to beat the Indonesian to the finish by ten seconds.
Ariehan now takes over the red-and-white jersey of best Indonesian rider in the Tour. Tanguilig takes over the green jersey as leader of the points competition, while Berkenbosch takes the polka-dot jersey as leader of the king-of-the-mountains competition. Griffin retains the yellow jersey of race leader.
Stage Three of the 2005 Dji Sam Soe Tour d'Indonesia will take the riders on a 204.8 kilometre leg from Purwokerto to Jogjakarta. The stage feature the most difficult climb of the Tour, rated as "above category." The Dji Sam Soe Tour d'Indonesia is a 1,433 kilometre race divided into nine stages. It began in Bandung on 12 September and will finish in Denpasar on the island of Bali on 21 September.
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