South Korean cyclist Park Sung-baek won the first stage of Tour de Taiwan yesterday amid a field of 102 competitors.
Park, who is part of the South Korea national team, finished first in the 60km race around Taipei City Hall in a time of 1 hour, 21 minutes, 39 seconds.
“I made sure I did not lose any time and avoided all the crashes and all that, and just took it easy because it’s a long tour ahead,” said Park, who rides for the Drapac Professional Cycling Team.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Adam Phelan of Australia, who won the prologue on Saturday, finished 15th.
The 19-year-old Australian was able to take the yellow jersey for the best individual in the overall classification and hold the white jersey for best under-23 rider for the second straight day, with an aggregate time of 1 hour, 24 minutes, 22 seconds.
“I was happy to hold the jersey today. We do a lot of crits [criterium] in Australia, so we should be able to just keep it up there,” Phelan said in an interview after the race.
The green jersey for overall leader of the points category went to South Korean Jang Chan-jae, who finished among the top three in the three sprints, earning a total of 11 points.
Junya Sano of Japan, who rides with an Italian team and placed eighth overall, won the best Asian rider title in 1 hour, 24 minutes, 27 seconds.
Wu Po-hung of Senter-Merida was the first Taiwanese cyclist to cross the finish line in 12th place.
Hong Kong’s Wong Kam-po, the winner of the men’s cycling event at last year’s Asian Games, finished 14th.
Ireland’s David McCann, who wore the yellow jersey throughout all of last year’s Tour de Taiwan, finished in 23rd place.
Eighteen teams with cyclists from 22 countries competed in the opening stage of the round-the-nation race, which is scheduled to run through March 28.
A total of 101 cyclists will compete in the next stage in New Taipei City today.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
RSS