Ivanov gets into history books
NST, 17/2/2008

RUSLAN Ivanov booked his place in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) folklore when he emerged with the yellow jersey as the Tour's leader following a fairly straight-forward result in the decisive stage up to Fraser's Hill from Temerloh yesterday.

It was inevitable that one of the two Venezuelan team Serramenti Diquigiovanni riders would be the one to wrest the jersey from overnight leader Mitchell Docker of the Drapac-Porsche team. The plan was executed so smoothly that Italian Filippo Savini of the CSF-Navigare team was allowed to take the stage win and the mountains classification as the pre-event favourites focused on the most important overall title.

The day also saw Japanese outfit Meitan Hompo-GDR stake their claim for the Asian riders' classification as there was no denying Shinichi Fukushima what he came for, thanks to some good work in the final sections of the climb by the team's Malaysian climber Ng Yong Li, who sacrificed his own position in the general classification (GC) to push his leader back into the blue jersey, which was held the day before by South Korean Park Sung Baek.

Moldovan rider Ivanov, 35, was nevertheless the biggest winner on the day. Barring a mishap in the final stage -- the Kuala Lumpur Criterium today -- he is bound for the biggest win of his career, coming only two years after he was left without a contract before being saved by Serramenti Diquigiovanni team boss Gianni Savio.

"Of course we came into this race with big expectations as we've always been the best team in this race. Everybody was watching us and today (yesterday) it was down to Jackson (Rodriguez) and myself to seize the initiative. We had to do what had to be done," said Ivanov, among the breakaway group of 19 riders who had caused a sensation by putting on a 23-minute deficit on the rest of the pack in Stage One from Alor Star to Kepala Batas last Saturday.

"We put on a high rhythm right from the start of the climb so that the sprinters who were high in GC were dropped first. Inside three or four kilometres to go, (teammate Jose) Serpa helped me to the finish. I must say this result was unexpected, so I must dedicate this to the team," added Ivanov.

For Savini's depleted CSF-Navigare team, the stage win was the only reward for them this year, the first mountain stage win for the team since Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio did it for them in Genting Highlands in 2000.

"Our tactics were simple, just to stay with the front group and be cautious, and in the final kilometres I just attacked on my own and rode solo," said Savini.

LTdL's 13th edition closes with the Kuala Lumpur Criterium today, ending one of the most exciting races in it's history, marred only by the pre-event confusions and long transfers between stages.

For once, Malaysia have had something to cheer in the form of sprinter Anuar Manan of the Le Tua team who has given the best sprinters a run for their money and starts today still second in the points classification, having tasted wearing the green jersey for two days.

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