German Vogt shines in Le Tour de Filipinas Stage 2
Credit to Author: JEAN RUSSEL V. DAVID| Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2019 16:24:58 +0000
DAET, Camarines Norte: German Mario Vogt dominated Stage 2 while Dutch Jeroen Meijers kept the overall lead after two stages of the 10th Le Tour de Filipinas on Saturday here.
Vogt of Team Sapura Cycling (TSC) was leading three-fourths of the 194.9-kilometer race en route to a sprint victory with a total time record of four hours, 49 minutes and six seconds.
Kohei Uchima of Team Ukyo that closely challenged Vogt, finished second and Choon Huat Goh of Terrengganu Cycling Team, third.
“In the end, it was a sprint. I tried to attack in the last kilometer but the other guy (Uchima) followed me and it was just a sprint. Fortunately, I could win,” said the 27-year old Vogt, who donned the purple and orange Best Sprinter jerseys, respectively.
Vogt, Uchima, Goh and Samuel Hill of Team Nero Bianchi pulled away from the peloton after the mid sprint at the 28km mark with six minutes gap from their rivals which includes Filipino rider Junrey Navarra of the Philippine National Team.
The chase group eventually merged with the peloton six minutes behind the four leaders.
Hill dropped more than halfway through from the lead pack because of mechanical problem, leaving the three riders to fight for the stage’s top honors entering the last 25km mark.
“After this, we already have the gap from the peloton and I just go with the other guys and follow and then we worked really well together and make it to the line,” added Vogt, who topped the general classification (GC) in Tour de Iskandar on March in Johor, Malaysia.
TSC’s Mohammad Abd Rasim emerged as the stage’s Best Young Rider while Jan Paul Morales of Philippine National Team was declared best Filipino rider.
Meanwhile, Meijers (07:59) maintained a steady pace to keep his overall lead by 45 seconds against Stage 2 runner-up Goh (07:59:45). Meijers wore the blue jersey and was named the King of the Mountain after he dominated the 2.7km uphill climb at the Quezon Forest National Park.
Angus Lyons of Olivers Real Food Racing was 1:43 minutes behind Meijers in the GC followed by Daniel Habtemichael of 711 Cliqq-Air 21 (Continental) at fourth with a 2:13-minute gap.
The Philippines’ Marcelo Felipe, meanwhile, is keen to close the gap during the 183.7km Stage 3 from Daet to Legazpi City, Albay. Felipe is currently No. 11 (+2:36 minutes) in the GC.
“I will work for our team and help my teammate tomorrow (today). I am hopeful for the overall honors because I was just mere seconds behind the top three riders in the general classification,” said Marcelo.
Habtemichael wore the red jersey (Best Young Rider) and Felipe the pink jersey (Best Filipino Rider).
Team Ukyo is leading the Team GC (24:02.14) by three minutes over Taiyuan Miogee Cycling Team (21:02.14).
Go for Gold (G4G) was named the Best Filipino Team with 24:17:42 followed by the Philippine National Team and Celeste Cycles – Bianchi Philippines with 2:12 and 3:32 minutes differences, respectively.
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