Coyle rules Le Tour Stage 4 but Meijers keeps overall lead
Credit to Author: JEAN RUSSEL V. DAVID| Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:15:30 +0000
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay: Dutch rider Jeroen Meijers retained his hold of the general classification lead while Australian Jesse Coyle claimed the penultimate Stage 4 honors of the 10th Le Tour de Filipinas on Monday here.
Coyle, a native of Sydney, finished the 176-kilometer out-and-back route in four hours, 28 minutes and 41 seconds to give his Team Nero Bianchi its second podium finish in the tournament after his teammate Samuel Hill topped the second stage the other day.
The 24-year old Coyle shut his eyes and pedaled away from first runner-up Muhammad Shaiful Adlan Mohd Shukri of Malaysia after seeing the finish gantry at 30 meters away.
“He (Shukri) attacked me probably four times and I was on my limit. I just shut my eyes and kicked when I saw the finish line. I got so excited to claim my first UCI win and second win for the team. So, it’s really amazing,” said Coyle, who consumed five liters of water to keep hydrated under the scorching heat which added to the intensity of the game.
Shukri of Team Sapura Cycling that closely challenged Vogt beginning the last 20-kilometer mark finished in second place followed by teammate and Stage 2 winner Mario Vogt.
“I spewed on the line in the last 20km and it really paid off,” added Coyle, who was a surprise leader by breaking away with 60km on the line together with Shukri after the peloton caught the lead group manned by Junrey Navarra of the Philippine National Team.
The lead packed then developed with three riders on board until Kohei Uchima of Team Ukyo dropped from the pack.
Navarra crossed the finish line 32 seconds after Coyle to place No. 10 in the UCI 2.2 sanctioned event.
But nothing has changed in the general classification with Meijers (17:03:19) of Taiyuan Miogee Cycling Team (China) maintaining his lead by 45 seconds and kept the AIR21 purple jersey in possession.
He was followed by Choon Huat Goh of Terengganu Cycling Team (Malaysia) at second and Angus Lyons of Oliver’s Real Food Racing (Australia) in third.
Jhon Mark Camingao of the Philippine National Team donned the NMM King of the Mountain blue jersey by conquering the 2.2km Forest Lake Memorial Park route.
Vogt wore the Cargohaus best sprinter orange jersey while Marcelo Felipe of 711 Cliqq-Air21 took the pink jersey for SPL best Filipino rider.
The fifth and final 145.8km stage is an out-and-back route again in Legazpi City via Donsol in Sorsogon, known for its rolling hills and winding roads.
The annual competition was marked by the full cooperation of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.
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