Stormy Weather or Not, It's a Bike Race 
International Herald Tribune
February 20, 1997
By Samuel Abt 

Warnings of winds up to 70 kilometers an hour were posted, the tide in the South China Sea was expected to rise a meter and a wild rainstorm drummed on the roof, but Gianni Bugno was undaunted.

"We have riders who love this kind of weather," the star Italian bicycle racer said. "We left them at home. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any competition."

Presumably he referred to the Belgian contingent of his Mapei team, which brought Italian riders to Le Tour de Langkawi, Asia's richest bicycle race. And presumably Bugno was kidding — even Belgians would rate this as heavy weather.

The island of Borneo, whose northeast is occupied by the Malaysian state of Sabah, has the second-largest rain forest in the world, after Brazil's, and those trees grow a foot or two overnight. Not for nothing did ancient seafarers refer to Sabah as "The Land Below the Wind."

Bugno spoke Tuesday as the storm raged. On Wednesday, although the sky was low, the rain held off as 150 riders, in 25 teams of six men each, began the 12-day Tour de Langkawi. They sought honor, glory and, it goes without saying, a piece of the overall prize money of 1 million ringgit ($425,000)

Eric Wohlberg of the Canadian amateur team won the first stage, a 19-kilometer (12-mile) individual time trial in and around Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's capital. Second was Andrei Mizourov of the Kazakstan team, another amateur.

Riding on national teams, other amateurs come from such countries as Finland, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Ireland, South Africa and, of course, Malaysia.

Professional teams include Mapei and MG, two Italian powerhouses, Casino from France, Cedico from Belgium, Saturn from the United States and Giant from Australia. Damian McDonald of Giant won the race in its initial edition last year.

The first stage was run in muggy weather and headwinds off the ocean. If not demonstrative, spectators were respectful, lining the sidewalk near the finish as workers spilled out of such establishments as the Chin Chi Printing Works and an abnormal number of shops dedicated to re-covering cushions.

More passion was shown at the Restoran Jubilee, an open-air eatery where the specialty is fish-head curry and where diners rose from their tables to wave at riders. In the outskirts, a goodly number of children sat in front of the Proposed Wisma Perindustrian, a 17-story office building under construction, and cried "Fast, fast," in the English that most Malaysians speak.

Le Tour de Langkawi will cross both of Malaysia's states on Borneo and the 11 on the peninsula, and will have covered 1,608.5 kilometers when it ends March 2 on the island of Langkawi.

The overall course is mainly flat, and the major day to weed out the contenders should be Monday, stage six, which comprises three climbs into the Genting Highlands, including the finish up a grade that measures 16 percent in part. Another big test will be the 10th stage, Feb. 28, across Malaysia's main mountain range and including a 50-kilometer ascent.

Along the way, according to the race manual, will be such exotic locales as the start of the fifth daily stage at the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the bonus sprint at the Shah Alam Mosque (also the fifth stage), the Maran Mosque (seventh stage) and the passage past the prime minister's birthplace (kilometer 134.5 on the 11th stage).

The prime minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad, is the highly active patron of the race, which is designed to give Malaysians experience in staging big international sports events before Kuala Lumpur is host to the Commonwealth Games in September 1998.

Stage two will be held Thursday in Sarawak, Malaysia's second state on Borneo. Since, as in Sabah, the rainy season is nearing its end there, dicey weather is likely. After that and a two-hour flight to the peninsula, where the rainy season was over months ago, the forecast is for heavy heat and clear skies. Farewell, pewter clouds. Adios, rain. Welcome, sunshine, welcome. Or, as they say in Malay, selamat datang.

Copyright © 2006 The International Herald Tribune