Dubai: Alexandr Pliuschin of Moldova emerged victorious in the annual Sharjah Tour, which concluded at the Sharjah Corniche on Monday.
Held this year by the Sharjah Sports Council (SSC) to coincide with the UAE National Day celebrations, Pliuschin won the general and points classifications to walk away winner.
Representing the Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team, the 27-year-old from Moldova finished the 546.2-km race in a cumulative time of 13 hours and 40 seconds.
The UAE’s Yousuf Al Hammadi came in second with a gap of 1.34 minutes separating the top two, while Skydive Dubai’s Soufianne Haddi from Morocco came in third 3.55 minutes off the leader.
Pliuschin also won the points classification after he ended the four stages of the race with nine points while Al Hammadi finished in second with six points and Roman Van Uden and Francisco Perez of Spain followed in joint fourth with four points each.
Pliuschin, who has spent a couple of years with Team Katusha on the demanding European cycling circuit, has been with the Skydive Dubai Pro Team for one season. He was national champion for Moldova in 2011 and 2012.
Ahmad Al Fardan, General Secretary, SSC, was the chief guest along with a host of dignitaries at the final prize distribution.
The strong performances from Pliuschin and Haddi ensured the team title for the Skydive Dubai Pro Team as they finished clear of the UAE national team, while Velo Club Sorac of Algeria came in third.
Haddi was named ‘King of the Mountains’ after he left Roman Van Uden of New Zealand and Lexer Mark John Galedo from the Philippines in second and third place respectively in the second stage of the race held over 136 kilometres between Umm Al Quwain and Kalba.
The youth title went to Luuc Bugter after the French lad finished ahead of Algeria’s Abdul Rahman Al Mansouri and Angel Vasquez of Spain. A total of 117 professional cyclists participated in the 2.2 classified race on the UCI Asia Tour.
