Australian Michael Troy wins fast 150km stage in Thailand's Tour of Friendship

Troy, a 24 year old pro cyclist from Sydney, slipped off the front of the peloton early in the stage and motored away to a good gap and never looked back as he tucked into time trial mode to ride the strong peloton off his wheel.

"I train a lot solo, so today it was just me doing my training ride. I went pretty hard in the first 20minutes to get that initial gap, but after that I just cruised the rest of the way pushing between 240-320 watts", says Troy about his stage win. "It was a good tail wind and good road, that my average speed was high throughout, I had to stop for a train at one point but other than that it was a fast stage. I sat up quite a bit towards the end and I was lucky to cross the line still 15 seconds in front of a charging group".

Going over the final gut-buster with 5km to the finish line, an elite selection of five riders shot clear to fight out for second.  Pro Bike CS Racing's Fu Shiu Cheung (the winner of the 2013 Tour of Matabungkay) outsprinted Lee Rodgers (Lapierre Asia Racing). Japanese riders Yoshihiro Takahashi (Team CB) and Kyosuke Takei (Forza) rounded out the top five with strong riding over the steep climb. Peter Pouly (Bike Net Training Camp), more built for the longer climbs, had to settle for sixth.

How it unfolded

It was a muggy morning in the vast city of Bangkok, when riders lined up for the 150km stage, neutral 20km rollout before the real racing action would begin at the Friendship Tour of Thailand.

With a big tail wind blowing, the pace of the peloton was always high, seldom dropping below 40km/h, with the speeds usually in excess of 50km/h over bumpy roads. When Michael Troy slipped away, it was almost un-noticed and was not taken seriously. Even when the gap quickly went out to 1.10 and then suddenly to 3.20, the peloton thought one single rider could not possibly last that long solo in the simmering Thailand heat.

The peloton could never organize a solid consistent chase, with speeds fluctuating greatly. The chase effort was not helped with several key riders including Lee Rodgers and several riders from the DirectAsia.com team were involved in crashes.  The Indian Specialized KYNKYNK cycling team were initially mounting a good chase working in tandem with Lewis Fellas (CCN), but the effort soon took its toll. Throughout the stage there were constantly riders looking to make a breakaway and form their own chase groups, however the peloton always reeled them back in.

Peter Pouly, a world class climber, tried to make a selection on the final short steep climb and succeeded. However, one of the Japanese riders rode clear at the top. Pouly finished sixth, with Specialized KYNKYNY's Lokesh Narasimhachar coming in 7th. Choi Heng Wa (TROPIX-CRONUS) led home the next group for 8th position just ahead of Taylor Price.

Tomorrow's stage looks to be a race of attrition with estimates of upwards of five hours to complete the 170kms that is going to be dished out for the riders. It could be a day for Hong Kong's Pro Bike CS riders as it features numerous climbs, including a 14km climb at about 5-6% average gradient. The course also throws in a few sharp kickers to keep things honest; beginning with the hill that was used for the finish of Stage two that could split the peloton quite early on. Will Michael Troy keep on asserting his cycling prowess or will he let others take the limelight? Stay tuned for the next update.

More info on the Friendship Tour, visit the official website.