HONG KONG riders Wong Kam-po, Tse Wing-man and Hui Chak-bor held their own among the professionals as the popular Tour de Taiwan rolled off with a 100-kilometre criterium race in Taipei yesterday.
The Hong Kong trio finished in the main group of about 60 riders who were all accredited with the same time of one hour, 58 minutes and 26 seconds.
Marcel Luppes, of the Giant team from the Netherlands, outsprinted the pack in the blanket finish and had 15 seconds deducted from his time for taking line honours.
Lutz Lehmann, of team Merida from Germany, received a 10-second deduction for finishing second while Luppes' teammate Aart Vierhouten had five seconds for third.
Hong Kong's manager Leung Hung-tak was pleased with the results although Chan Lung was in another group who finished a minute behind and Chong Dat-wai was lapped.
'The field is very strong with professional riders from Europe and America competing and to have three riders in the main pack is a very good result,' said Leung. 'Wong Kam-po is riding into form and he should be very strong when we come to the hilly sections of the tour. 'Hui Chak-bor is also improving with every race while Tse Wing-man is doing very well for a newcomer who has virtually no international experience.' Wong is presently sixth overall on the individual chart, 11 seconds behind leader Luppes.
