Cycling : Why Asian Riders Are Catching Up
International Herald Tribune
January 27, 2000
Samuel Abt

From its start five years ago, Le Tour de Langkawi bicycle race has opened its roads to Asian teams and in the last three years it has opened its wallet as well.

Among the prizes totaling dollars 350,000 overall, there are daily cash bonuses for the top 10 Asian riders plus a final award of 20,000 ringgit (dollars 5,300) for the top Asian rider overall and an identical sum for the top Asian team. The final prizes include those for the top 10 overall Asian riders and their top six teams for an aggregate of 125,000 ringgit. For a lot of teams, that does indeed ring it.

"We created an Asian category to encourage the riders and the teams as they go up against European professionals," explained Alan Rushton, the race's controller. "This is a major race for the Asian teams and we want them here. We don't even have to try to attract them. They all want to come."

This year's edition includes 16 European and American professional teams, including two from the 22-team first division, a Malaysian all-star contingent and national amateur teams from the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. In all, there are 25 teams of six riders each in the race, which began Wednesday and ends Feb. 6.

While Asians have rarely finished in the top 10 in any daily stage in previous Tours de Langkawi, they regard the race as a learning experience.

"This is a very high-level event in Asia and we welcome the chance to race against the top European professional teams," said Matsuyoshi Takahashi, the head of the Japanese team. "They have lessons to teach us."

His words were echoed by Darshan Singh, president of the Asian Cycling Confederation and life president of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation.

"The race gives Asian riders exposure to top riders from other parts of the world," he said as he watched the first stage, a short time trial. "Our riders can learn, they can share experiences and, of course, improve."

That is also true in fan support, Rushton said in an interview. In its earliest incarnations, the race was a curiosity as it traveled throughout Malaysia, not ordinarily thought of as a hotbed for bicycle racing. But lately, Rushton continued, "The crowds are getting bigger, they're beginning to understand it, they're following who the leaders are."

"We think it's caught on," he said, offering as proof an amateur race that was staged one night in the center of Kuala Lumpur in what passes for the Malaysian winter — a few degrees cooler than the heavy heat of its current summer. "That race drew 700 riders," he said. "That's a big number."

Le Tour de Langkawi was the brainchild of the country's prime minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad, a fan of the sport and a frequent visitor to the race. Originally the race was meant to popularize the resort island of Langkawi — Malay for eagle — off the northwest coast and near Thailand. Although the name was retained, from the first the race has transited the country, including sometimes its eastern island of Borneo.

Rushton and his colleagues in The Events Group in England, who have organized many races, including the start of the Tour de France in Dublin two years ago, were hired for the 1998 edition. "We do the routes, the selection and arrangement of teams, the officials and the results service," he explained, but Malaysians are in charge of everything else.

Sponsors include many major Malaysian companies, including Telekom Malaysia, Petronas, the country's oil and gas producers, Malaysia Airlines and two car manufacturers, Proton and Perodua. The Malaysian Tourism Development Board is another key sponsor. "That's what the race is selling — Malaysia," Rushton said. "It's a completely different cultural experience for the European riders and at the core of it, there's still a high-class international bike race.

"But around it is a tourism experience that Malaysia wants to project to the world. With daily coverage on Radio and Television Malaysia and the Star network for the whole of Asia, they're getting that. Plus Indonesia is taking a television package and so are Eurosport and the Outdoor Life cable station in the United States."

"Hopefully, this race will become a fixture," he added. "It will grow as long as the people here want to do it."

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