Thailand: Lee Rodgers wins Opening Prologue

Professional rider Lee Rodgers has won the opening 7km prologue in a very fast time of 7.02 over 7km.

Rodgers, riding for his new Lapierre Asia Racing Team, has notched up his first win for the outfit this season. Second rider in was Australian Matt Kinch (Specialized Confero Mavericks), coming in five seconds behind Rodgers. Coming in third was Japanese rider Kyosuke Takei (Forza) with 9.10. Lewis Fellas (CCN) and Michael Troy (Specialized Confero Mavericks) rounded out the top five, with 9.12 ad 9.15 respectively.

This year's open category had 64 riders start, and judging from the times, it is the most competitive field yet with the top 32 riders all going under the 10 minute mark on the fast 7km circuit. For full results of Open men, click here.

Peter Pouly, the winner of Haute Route for two years in a row, posted a creditable time of 9.17 to finish top 10 with seventh overall.

As for the teams representation, it appears that Specialized Confero Mavericks lead the way with three of their riders nicely slotted into the top 10. However, do not discount serious competition from the other teams, especially Lapierre Asia,  DirectAsia.com with their numbers, ProBike CS Racing and the photogenic Specialized Kynkyny Cycling Team from India.

In the women's event, Veronique Florizoone (Specialized Confero Mavericks) won with a time of 10.26 followed by Tina D Haugbro (Unattached) and Victoria Norvall (Specialized Confero Mavericks), 1.2 seconds and 16 seconds behind respectively. For Full results click here: Women's results.

Day two's long 138km stage promises to be full of action as individual riders and teams stake their claims for domination. The stage is pre-dominantly flat with a 20km neutral roll-out from the Nanthanburi Palace Hotel and will consist of a approx 1-2km steep climb towards the end followed by another short climb just ahead of a flattish or downhill finish. It is expected that there will be a bunch sprint, and the sprinters of the peloton will be eager to go for the stage win while the GC contenders should finish safely in the peloton; waiting for the more difficult stages to come.

About Friendship Tour of Thailand

After the 13th Asian Games in 1998 in Bangkok, Titaree Tanakorn decided to organize a new cycling tour with support of 40 commissaries. First named the “Anti Drug Tour Thailand” and “Tour of EGAT” the name later changed to “Tour of Friendship R1.” Famed for its friendly and fun atmosphere, the event grew every year by 60-80 riders.  The “Tour of Friendship R1″ is neither about professional racing nor money – it is all about the love for cycling and to connect cyclists from all over the world. The meaning of R1 is Road race number 1. The tour is well organized, with a dedicated staff of 120 to take care of the roads and to support the cyclists on their ride. It is perhaps the most popular race for expatriates living in Asia and also attracts riders from further abroad including India, Australia, USA and the UK.