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STAGE 4 (From PURWOKERTO to SOLO)
Bad news for the BuGils group. Max was
disqualified. He had been clinging on cars for too long. It was
true and there was no discussion possible. Disappointment in the
group. Somber but facing the facts, Max shrugged his shoulders and
said: 'I better go home immediately. If not, my wife
will kill me. She is Danish, you know....'. I knew enough and
padded his shoulder in support. But the worst news was yet to
come. Just 30
minutes before the start, we were informed that the BuGils support
car was
disqualified as well! It was a heavy penalty. Max was hanging on
the car because he was sick and to punish the car as well, was too
much. But no discussion was possible. In the upcoming monster
stage we were not allowed to feed and, on top of that, our
car was only allowed at the tail of the caravan.
The four remaining cyclists were at a loss. Ahead of them was a
245 km race with two category 4 mountains. Even in the Tour de
France you don't get them as heavy as this. 'No drinks? No food?
And if we have a puncture, what to do!?' said Dean in disbelief.
His wife was listening and tried to make sense of it all, but
couldn't and therefore didn't say anything. Jacob Nielsen instantly -there
were 30 minutes left- looked for solutions. 'We ask the Giant and
Greenfield teams. We helped them before.', he said, while quickly
pulling some reserve wheels from the car. The team manager of the
Thai team already came to offer his support. He promised them
water at the feet of both mountains. The solidarity from the other
teams was overwhelming.
I offered Max my seat in front of our team car. He could coach the
team better then I (as far as that was possible from the
tail position) and I didn't mind to experience the stage in a
different way, going ahead of the tour with the mini bus.
By receiving blow after blow, the group was eager for revenge.
Their sun burned faces looked grim when I left them behind at the
start in Purwokerto. First I wanted to write some impression about
MY nerve breaking descent to Solo (It took me only 1 km to
find out that the material cars have their own race as well), but
the other story is more interesting.
Uwe, our best man, finished on a respectable 5th place at
38 seconds after the winner. After more then six and half hours on
the saddle in the burning sun, without the much needed sugars and
liquids, it was a good result. Dean Iversen came in
16th at 7.16
and Jacob Nielsen 26th at 10.13. Our sprinter (who won the criterium in Jakarta)
Andre Schultze, gave up half way, after the
OC had informed the participants that they were allowed to go in
the broom wagon and to start again the next day. (reason; what
sponsor is interested in a tour that ends with only a handful
riders?). With a 108km stage
for the following day, it would be a great opportunity for our
sprinter to save energy now and to go for it the next day.
In the evening I received a call from Don, an expat
living in Solo, asking me if I would come down for a beer (a coca
cola in my case, being still in my 'detox' month). I went to the
Novotel bar and met a number of expats there, many who were
subscribed to my newsletter. Interesting people, and again, very
different from
the Bali and Jakarta expats. I hadn't been in Solo for a while and
expected it to be a mainly Islamic orientated city. But I was
happy to see Bir Bintang signs along the street and modern
malls where flirting girls with tattoos on their shoulders enjoyed
KFC, Texas BBQ chicken or a McDonalds. Tourists shouldn't be
worried. Solo is a very friendly city.
Around 11 in the evening I took a becak back to
the hotel and couldn't resist to have a look in a
half open karaoke bar along the main street. A Chinese man
was singing 'I did it my way', but I found his way loud and
out of tune.
I sat down at the bar and suddenly noticed this girl sitting next
to me. Long curly hair and certainly one who would do find behind
the bar back in Jakarta. She wear a long elegant dress; the split
stopped where her hair began (or ended). You might think that this
does not have anything to do with cycling, so why start about
this? Well, maybe it does have something to do with
cycling.
The girl introduced herself immediately. Tiara was her
name. She came straight to the point: 'Are you looking for a
friend for the night? I wouldn't mind to accompany you...'.
She spoke with a slightly flirting smile. Before I answered, I
returned a question and asked from what city she originated. In a
quick movement, she swung her long hair over one shoulder, raising
her chin in my direction. With one eyebrow up, she answered: 'Does
it matter?' This lady looked really nice and sweet, but
she certainly wasn't on a night out for the fun of it. 'Ho, ho.. Easy
tiger.. Just asking...'. She turned to her drink and raised
the glass. It was a black Guinness beer with a straw. 'Cheers!',
she said, now with a more friendly look. 'Sendiri?'. Yes, I
was alone. 'Oh, ok. Good.' A short silence and then she continued:
'How much do you want to pay me for the night?' Again it was a
very direct question. Not something I would expect in a city like
Solo. I figured it was now time for me to lift my chin. I
turned my head to her and replied wisely: 'Does it matter?' She
instantly splashed the black beer back in her glass. 'You are
good!', she said, now with a big smile on her face. 'Cheers!', I
said and I...? I lifted my lime juice...
I came back in the hotel shortly after midnight. Matthijs had the
final results. Of the 98 cyclists that started this 4th stage, 32
of them had dropped out. In the Team Classification, Giant Asia (our
'befriended' team, since our riders got some water from them) was
leading, followed closely by the Japanese. The Iranians were third
and the BuGils Group was fourth. Not bad, considering all the
weird decisions of the OC against us. In the general individual
classification our Uwe Hardter was 5th at 2.33 from the
yellow jersey that was now on the shoulders of a Japanese rider. Andre still had to go on the
stage to get the green for being the best sprinter. All and all, BuGils
was
still in the race.
(You were right. that one part about Tiara did not have anything to
do with cycling. But.... Did it really
matter...?)
Bartele
The Criterium:
http://www.bartele.com/newsletters/Aug27nl2006.htm
Bandung-Cirebon:
http://www.bartele.com/newsletters/Aug28nl2006.htm
Cirebon-Purwokerto:
http://www.bartele.com/newsletters/Aug29nl2006.htm
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