Air Force Cycle tour:

Jeewan wins third stage

Bernard PERERA

Jeewan Jayasinghe the number one rider to represent Air Force Cycling Team won the third stage of the ‘Guwan Hamuda Savariya’ yesterday. This stage which commenced from Kandy and concluded opposite Air Force Headquarters covering a distance of 120 km.

The race which was flagged off at 9.00 am reached the finishing line in only 2 hrs 43.22 seconds. Seventy two riders were flagged off and they were in one bunch until they reached Mawanella. The few riders broke off and were trying their best to gain a sufficient lead. This was not allowed by the riders who were behind caught the front runner before reaching Kegalle.

The first sprint on the way was won by Samantha Lakmal followed by Asanka Pradeep Kumara, Janaka Wijesinghe and Jeewan Jayasinghe.

Reaching Nittambuwa four riders M D Madhusanka Fernando, Rangajeewa Perera, Supun Karunaratne and B J Sumanasekera got off the bunch and peddled through to Yakkala.

The second bunch once again caught up with the front runners and none could get away from them as all riders were engaged in a ding dong battle on the speed also increased immensely. None of the organizers or the spectators expected such a speedy race.

The second sprint at Nittambuwa saw Jeewan Jayasinghe take honours with Sanath Jayasinghe, Wasantha Harischandra and Buddhika Warnakulasuriya following the leader. Around seven riders led by Jeewan made an unexpected clash when reaching the Kelaniya flyover. They managed to maintain the advantage gained until they reached the finish line.

The most notable during the past three days are that three different riders managing to win these stages. This is also give an indication that today final stage will be of vital importance to all three winners and a prediction cannot be made as the standings are sure to change with today’s run from Colombo to Koggala.

Standing for the championship after two stages saw Dinesh Dhanushka (Sri Lanka Air Force) take top billing clocking stars 38.16 scs, just 0.09 secs ahead of Sri Lanka Navy’s Hemantha Kumara who won the second leg from Hingurakgoda to Kandy. Hemantha failed to be among the top five riders yesterday which could be a difficult task for him to catch up with a better time. Meanwhile Jeewan Jayasinghe yesterday’s winner who is top rider on flat surface is tipped for the event from Colombo to Koggala. If he does it today has a slight chance of gaining the top spot.

Today’s event is to commence at 8.00 am with Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetilleke set to flag off. A grand ceremony is organized for the awards ceremony in the evening.

Result

1. Jeewan Jayasinghe (SLAF), 2. Sanath Jayasinghe (SL Army), 3. Wasantha Harischandra, 4. Buddhika Warnakulasuriya, 5. Indika Warnasuriya.