sport 쐽 ● THE STRAITS TIMES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 2009 PAGE B10

Riders speeding past the Singapore Flyer

during the Elite Criterium race despite the wet
track. Fortunately, the rain stopped midway
during the 35-lap race, which was won by
Australian David Pell (above), who received a
US$12,500 cheque. ST PHOTOS: STEPHANIE YEOW

AUSSIE PELL SHINES IN SINGAPORE

He masters the wet
conditions to win OCBC
Elite Criterium crown
BY TERRENCE VOON
SINGAPORE’S first major professional cy-
cling race since the 1990s ended in a
three-way sprint to the finish as Austral-
ian David Pell mastered the wet condi-
tions to clinch the Elite Criterium title at
the inaugural OCBC Cycle Singapore yes-
terday.
Pell, who races for the Savings and
Loans Cycling Team, pedalled home in
1hr 28min 16sec to clinch the top prize of
US$12,500 (S$19,000), edging out Alan
Marangoni of CSF Group Navigare and
Garmin-Slipstream’s Ricardo van der Vel-
de by a single bike length.
It was the perfect finale to a thrilling
35-lap race that saw 65 international rid-
ers battle it out on part of the same cir-
cuit that hosted the world’s first night
Formula One race last September.
Pell, who upstaged favourites like Ol-
ympic silver medallist Alex Rasmussen,
called it “the biggest win” of his life.
“It was a very good circuit in Singa-
pore, and a great race for the first year,”
said the 28-year-old.
“I found the circuit very fast, and it
made for exciting racing.”
Recreational riders took to the streets on routes which ranged from 5km to 50km. ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
The 2km circuit, which looped around
the F1 Pit Building, was made slick by an
afternoon shower, which stopped only
midway through the race.
But there was no letting up right from
the massed start, as the top riders
clocked speeds of around 50kmh.
Just past the hour mark, the leading
pack took shape, with Pell, Marangoni,
van der Velde and Jason Allen of New Zea-
land taking turns to ride at the front.
Then came the sprints classification –
the race within a race where riders accu-
mulate points over five laps to compete
for a top prize worth US$5,000.
Marangoni was the fastest with 13
points, followed by Allen with 11 and Ras-
mussen with 10.
But the push for the sprints may have
taken their toll on some of the riders. Al-
len faded away on the final straight, as
Pell lunged across the finish line just
ahead of a tiring Marangoni and van der
Velde.
Malaysia’s Manan Anuar was the top
Asian rider with a ninth-place finish,
while unheralded Singaporean Ho Jun
Rong surprised many by holding his own
against the pros.
The 19-year-old full-time national
serviceman was the only Singapore rider
to complete the race, finishing in 38th
place.
Said the OCBC Singapore Cycling
Team rider: “I didn’t really expect to fin-
ish the race – a lot of people told me I
would drop out within half an hour.
“It was really a great experience to
ride with world-class riders for the first
time.”
Not all the action was reserved for the
elite riders. Earlier in the day, many pub-
lic roads were made “cyclists-only” as
over 5,000 recreational riders took part.
The routes – which ranged from 5km
to 50km – took participants past iconic
sights like the Singapore Flyer and the Na-
tional Stadium.
Minister for Community Develop-
ment, Youth and Sports Vivian
Balakrishnan, who took under an hour to
complete the 20km community ride, was
heartened by the response to the mass cy-
cling event, which the organisers say is
likely to be held again next year.
He said: “This is just the beginning.
“Today, we got 5,000 people. In the
years to come, I expect to see multiples of
that. I think cycling is really going to take
off in Singapore.”
tvoon@sph.com.sg

Guangdong superior in Battle of Sexes SPORTSWORLD

THE Guangdong women’s softball
team emerged tops in the Battle of
the Sexes held over the weekend.
They played four local men’s
teams and lost only to Club Storm,
going down 0-1 yesterday morning.
But they made up for it later by
beating Club Old Boyz 10-3.
With three Olympians in their
line-up, the Chinese side also proved
superior to the combined
NUS/ORA/Safsa team (7-5) and the
Singapore Recreation Club Hunters
(3-1).
Guangdong, who were invited by
the Singapore Baseball & Softball As-
Guangdong
captain Guo
Jia getting a
strike in a
match with
Club Old
Boyz, a local
men’s team.
The women
won the
match 10-3.
ST PHOTO: LAU
FOOK KONG
sociation for the friendlies, also out-
played the Singapore national wom-
en’s team 13-0 last Friday.
Guangdong captain Guo Jia, who
played in the 2004 and 2008 Olym-
pics, said of the matches against the
men: “We don’t get many opportuni-
ties to pit ourselves against such ag-
gressive and fast players. It’s good
practice for our defence.”
Said Goh Zhi Wei, the captain of
Club Old Boyz: “They are very
well-prepared. They are playing so
well even after so many games. It’s
really an eye-opener for us.”
Guangdong play an All-Star selec-
tion tomorrow at 7pm at Kallang.
MAY CHEN
Pakistan coach
slams groundsman
KARACHI: Pakistan cricket coach
Intikhab Alam criticised the
groundsman yesterday for
preparing a flat batting wicket
that helped Sri Lanka post a
huge total in their first innings
of the first Test.
Sri Lanka declared at 644-7
– their best total against
Pakistan – on day two and the
hosts finished the day at 44-1.
Pakistan still require a further
401 runs to avoid the follow-on.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela
Jayawardene (240) and Thilan
Samaraweera (231) featured in a
world-record 437-run
fourth-wicket stand as
Pakistan’s bowlers struggled for
108 overs to break the stand.
“I am not very happy with
the state of the wicket,” Alam
said. “We were not expecting
such a wicket.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Balestier no match
for champs SAFFC
DEFENDING champions
Singapore Armed Forces FC ran
out comfortable 3-0 winners
over hosts Balestier Khalsa in
their first match of the new
S-League football season.
Skipper Aleksandar Duric led
the way with a brace (36th and
39th minutes).
Japanese midfielder Masahiro
Fukusawa rounded off the
scoring 15 minutes from time.