UAE cycling duo Rafaa Chtioui and Yousif Mirza cherish ‘Sunrise of Java’

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  • Solid start: Rafaa Chtioui.

    The UAE made a solid start at the International Tour de Banyuwangi Ijen in Indonesia on Wednesday as Skydive Dubai’s Rafaa Chtioui and national team’s Yousif Mirza finished stage one in second and third.

    Chtioui, a Tunisian cyclist who is a former world junior championship road race silver medallist, was edged by Hong Kong’s Cheung King Lok, both conquering the 167km opening stage from RTH Glenmore to Taman Blambangan in 3:58:34.

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    Mirza, the leader of the UAE national team and ranked No6 on the UCI Asia Tour, completed the podium as he crossed the finish line 52 seconds behind the duo.

    Chtioui had more to celebrate as he nabbed the points classification green jersey.

    “This is an important event for us,” said Ricardo Martins, team manager of Skydive Dubai. “It’s a UCI Asia Tour race, 2.2, and as we are a team from Asia, we are interested in collecting as many points as we can. 

    The four-stage tour resumes on Thursday as riders race 145.7km from RTH Maron to Taman Blambangan.

    First held in 2012, and as one of only two UCI Asia Tour events to be held in Indonesia this year, the event is a young race staged at an intriguing place that locals refer to as “the Sunrise of Java”.

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