Iran display their strength with gold in road race

Sharjah: After playing second fiddle for the first three days continental superpowers Iran suddenly popped their head up as contenders when the road races in the 30th Asian Cycling Championships concluded in Sharjah late yesterday evening.

Leading the Iranian resurgence was their experienced rider Mehdi Sohrabi as he took gold in the 145.8km individual road race for elite men on the fourth day of the competition along the Al Khan Corniche here.

Sohrabi finished the longest road race with a time of three hours, 28.47 minutes leaving Japanese pursuer Takashi Miyazawa in second as he edged ahead of Sohrabi's teammate Hussain Nateghi with an identical time of 3:28.47.

"It has been a hard work all along and I am happy to finish at the top in Asia. I appreciate the help and assistance I received from my teammate (Nateghi) during the course of the race. I think ultimately it is my superior experience that helped me," Sohrabi stated.

Earlier, South Korea continued their fine form winning gold through teenager Kim Hyun-ji in the women's junior individual road race with a time of 2 hours, 10.37 minutes over the distance of 64.8kms.

Vietnam got their name in the medals bracket with Nguyen Dhat That winning silver in a time of 2:10.37, while Taiwan's Hui Chia Lin won the bronze with an identical time.

"I am over the moon with the gold medal as this is my first major medal in my cycling career," Hyun-ji stated.

"I have a future ahead and that gives me a lot of hope. I could not have achieved what I have without the support from the other members of the team. I will now turn my attention towards winning more gold medals for my country in the sprint events," the 17-year-old Korean promised.

Hard work

That's coach Nikolai Krikov put down his rider's silver medal finish to a lack of experience. "She (Nguyen Dhat That) could have won if she had the experience. But I am happy she has been rewarded with a medal for all the hard work she has put in preparing for such an important competition," Krikov said.

"She has a great future ahead," added the coach from Krygystan.

There will be no racing today, the top management of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) will be hosting the ACC Congress at the Millennium Hotel, Sharjah starting from 10am. From tomorrow action will shift to the Zayed Velodrome along the Sharjah-Ras Al Khaimah highway.