Stage 1: Report & Results
Thursday, September 29, 2022
The first Stage of the race started in the fine morning weather at 11:00 a.m. local time in Tabriz . Some 62 cyclists from 11 teams started the race, 154 km, from the beautiful Shahgoli Park in Tabriz toward Urmia, the capital city in the West Azerbaijan Province. The gentle autumn wind in the mountainous region in Azerbaijan and the sun were in favor of the competitors. The sun did not hurt the cyclists’ eyes; rather, it helped them follow their long shadows crawling fast in front of them. The 154 km road stretched through a mild slope until Azarshar and the flat plain toward the Islamic Island and the road through the Urmia Lake. As the race continued toward the Sprint line at 80 km point, the peloton dispersed in two groups. At 11:58 came the results of the first SPRINT:
1- Mazuki Nur Amirull Fakhruddin (6, from TSG – TERENGGANU POLYGON CYCLING TEAM, Malaysia)
2- Muhammad Danieal Haikkal (53, RJS-ROOJAI CYCLING TEAM, INDONESIA)
3- Mahdi Nateghi (112, Iran National Team)
The winding road through the Islamic Island in the Urmia Lake introduced a mountain competition at 98 km point. The rush of the cyclists from the head group toward the mountain line resulted in the triumph of the Malaysian cyclists. The result of the mountain competition was as follows:
1- Mohd Zarrif Muhamad Nur Aiman (3, from TSG – TERENGGANU POLYGON CYCLING TEAM, Malaysia)
2- Yemane Dawit (41, from BAI-BIKE AID CYCLING TEAM, GERMANY)
3- Mazuki Nur Amirull Fakhruddin (6, from TSG – TERENGGANU POLYGON CYCLING TEAM, Malaysia)
The cyclists, with their heads hanging, were engaged in a heated competition and did not recognized the crisis in the Urmia Lake. Where once the beautiful salty lake in the region was is now a field of grey salt stretched toward the mountains.
The last 40 km of the race showed an amazing performance of 6 cyclists. Their sudden rush made a clear distance between them and the two other groups in the peloton toward the Finish Line in the city Urmia. In the last kilometer to the finish line, MARCHAND Gianni threw his bike on the line to win stage 1 and became the first rider in the yellow jersey on the first day of the 35th Iran (Azerbaijan International Cycling Tour). MARCHAND Gianni covered the 154 km. route in 3 hours 24 minutes 22 seconds. The winners of the first day on the Podium were:
1- MARCHAND Gianni (102, from TIS-TARTELETTO-ISOREX, Belgium)
2- Mohd Zarrif Muhamad Nur Aiman (3, from TSG – TERENGGANU POLYGON CYCLING TEAM, Malaysia)
3- CHAWGIANGKWANG Peerapol (71, TCC-THAILAND CONTINNENTAL CYCLING TEAM)
The white jersey was awarded to NZAFASHWANAYO Jean Claude (13, PRO-PROTOUCH, Republic of South Africa) for being the best young cyclists in the tour.
The last cyclists passed the finish line after 3 hours 44 minutes 18 seconds and hardly kept himself on the tour. Two cyclists from the National Team of Iraq were disqualified.
The cyclists and the whole people accompanying the tour had a lunch in Urmia and then returned to Tabriz by the busses provided for them. The 2nd stage will start from Tabriz to Jolfa at 11:00 a.m. local time on Friday, September 30, 2022.
Written by: Abdullah Bageri Hamidi
- Date : 2022/9/30
- Written By : Web Admin
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