Bintan Lagoon Resort, Indonesia
March 31, 2019
The 2019 Tour de Bintan concluded today with a revamped and much tougher Gran Fondo Century, a 108km trip through the northwestern sector of the tropical island paradise that gives this iconic race its name.
With the UCI Gran Fondo World Championship qualifiers over, Stage 3 was all about which riders would emerge on top of the tour’s general classification standings. Not only did the racers have to contend with the addition of the punishing Ria Bintan loop to the finale of an already tough course, for the second day in row Bintan threw a big storm into the mix. The downpour was so intense at one point that the racing had to be suspended as bolts of lightening landed too close to the road for comfort.
The rain eventually eased up and the fireworks again came from the riders on the road rather than from the sky. First to cross the line today was Adultwit Phosangda (Aero Up X Royal Thai Police Cycling), as the Thai rider outsprinted the Indonesian rider Dealton Nur Arid Prayogo (KGB) and the yellow jersey of Nol van Loon (Specialized Roval Mavericks) in the Men’s 19-34 category. Van Loon’s third place on the day was good enough to clinch the final GC title by just five seconds from Prayogo.
The fastest group of the day was the Men’s 35-39 division, with Bastian Dohling (Specialized Roval Mavericks) prevailing in the sprint in a time of 2 hours, 51 minutes and 47 seconds. That 35-39 category was the only one of the men’s groups where the yellow jersey changed hands, with that honour going to David Cheam (Matador Racing).
On the women’s side of the action, the two riders from the 35-39 category who had dominated the whole weekend, Annemiek Stegehuis (Paco Tora Concap) and Yann Kai Oh (Project 852), did it again, coming to the finish line together again, this time along with Chelsie Tan (BikeLabz Racing). The trio covered the 108km course in a time of 3:14:10. Once the dust had settled, though, it emerged that Oh had taken the yellow jersey from Stegehuis by just two seconds.
The skies had completely cleared and the sun was shining bright by the time the riders gathered for the gala presentation ceremony and lunch by the beach at the Bintan Lagoon Resort. The festivities concluded with the traditional champagne spray announcement of the overall team awards. This year those went to the Specialized Roval Mavericks for the men and Integrated Riding Racing Team for the women.
The Tour de Bintan will be back next year for its 10th anniversary edition.
