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Banyuwangi, East Java. Bambang Suryadi knows he still has work to do to keep hold of the Tour d’Indonesia yellow jersey.

The Polygon Sweet Nice racer came in outside the top 15 in the eighth stage on Monday, completing the 185.1-kilometer route from Probolinggo to Banyuwangi, East Java, in two hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds.

His lead atop the individual standings with a time of 27:51:42 shrunk to just 17 seconds over second-place Eric Sheppard of Plan B Racing Team. Germany Wurtternberg’s Christoph Springger is third in 27:52:09.

“It’s a close gap with two stages to go, so I have to keep up my pace to maintain the lead until the race is over,” said Bambang, 21. “Luckily for me, there will be a steep climb in [today’s] stage, so that will give me an advantage as I’m a better climber.”

Bambang is on the brink of becoming only the second Indonesian to win the Tour since it began in 2003. Herwin Jaya won last year’s edition.

Bambang also holds the red and white jersey for the best local racer and the polka-dot jersey given to the King of the Mountain leader. Mohd Akmal Amrun of the Malaysian national team has secured the green jersey as the top sprinter, with no more sprint events in the final two stages.

Shinichi Fukushima of Terengganu Cycling Team, who briefly wore the yellow jersey last week, won Monday’s stage in 4:50:38. Sea Keong Loh of the Malaysian national team was two seconds behind him, while Harm De Vries of Global Cycling Team was third.

Today’s stage covers 137.7-kilometers in Bali from Gilimanuk to Kintamani. The Tour finishes in Denpasar on Wednesday.

Antara