Wong Kam Po wins Tour's first stage

Hong Kong cyclist Wong Kam Po (黃金寶) won the first leg of the Tour de Taiwan race yesterday, while another rider from Hong Kong, Wong Ngai Ching (黃毅程), and Malaysian Tsen Seong Hoong (曾祥洪) won second and third place.

The 176km Kaohsiung-Taitung leg was the first stage of the six-day event that kicked off yesterday. Riders crossed the central mountain range at an altitude of more than 400m above sea level.

Wong Kam Po won the race in a time of 4 hours, 35 minutes and seven seconds.

Princess Wade Syndiely, daughter of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, was among the fans following the race yesterday. The princess was invited to award the first stage prize to Wong.

Twelve teams are participating in the race, which includes riders from Kazakhastan, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kong, as well as France, Europe and Asia teams sponsored by bicycle manufacturers Giant and Merida.

The second leg will set off from Taitung City's Chunghsing Road Section 2 at 10am this morning and will end at the Hualien County Stadium. The second leg will be 173km long. The entire race is 693km.