Cycling: Goh wears yellow

Cycling: Goh wears yellow

He is the first Singaporean to hold the prestigious yellow jersey and he intends to keep it until the end of the Tour.

OCBC Pro Cycling Team's Goh Choon Huat made history after he seized the Yellow Jersey in Stage 2 of Le Tour de Filipinas yesterday.

It also marked his first leader's jersey at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Asia Tour after he finished the 175.5-kilometre stage from Olongapo City to Cabanatuan City in 13th place in 4:15:21, 47 seconds behind stage winner Mark Galedo of Team 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines.

The result catapulted Goh, 23, from sixth to first place in the General Classification (GC) standings, ahead of fellow OCBC rider Eric Sheppard (second) and Galedo (third).

STRONG

Speaking to The New Paper after the race, an exhausted Goh said: "Even though I was still tired from the previous stage, I knew we had to stay strong as a team.

"I'm happy I won and I hope to do my best for the team, to keep this jersey and help the team win the tour."

The young Singapore cyclist knows he faces a tough challenge, though.

"The final stage has some incredibly tough climbs, so it'll be up to me or Eric to see who has the strongest legs and can help the team in the last stretch," said Goh.

"I'm really proud to wear the yellow jersey, but I'm also very nervous because it's my first leader's jersey.

"I will give everything I have to keep the yellow jersey till the end."

The Singapore outfit lead the Team GC with a time of 25:13:13, ahead of Team 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines and South Korea's KSPO Continental Team.

The riders will continue with today's Stage 3, a 146.6km ride that begins at Cabanatuan City and ends at Bayombong.

The Tour ends with the fourth and final stage, a 132.7km race from Bayombong to Baguio.

redzwank@sph.com.sg

This article was published on April 23 in The New Paper.

Get The New Paper for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.