Author - jessica

Kota Kinabalu: Cycling fans in the State will now have more reasons to be excited while awaiting the start of Tour of Borneo 2012, from April 27 to May 1, when five young and talented riders will be flying the Sabah flag in the inaugural tour. To further support the young team who are being coached by Jatin Imam, the Tour of Borneo Fan Club was also launched by Suriati Yantey Adam, who attended on behalf of Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, the Member of Parliament for Papar, who is also Deputy Health Minister, at the Sabah Oriental Hotel, here. At the ceremony, Suriati also handed over the State flag to team manager, Julian Ong. The Sabah team roster for ToB, under the guidance of coach Jatin Imam, will be headed by Sharin Amir, Mohd Suhaizan Rayim, Chai Eng Hoe, Jeoffrey Jerry Jemie and Yusuf Ali. Also present at the ceremony was Tour of Borneo Organising Chairman, Dato' Fredie Sua and race officials. Suriati expressed Rosnah's hopes that the Sabah team will stand out and bring honour to the State in the inaugural race, it will indeed spark interest in cycling and to influence other young riders. "As a cycling tour that crosses most main districts in Sabah, I hope that more fans will come out to support and cheer our young team on, this will surely boost their determination when competing with the other teams. "The successful organisation of the first ever Tour of Borneo will certainly be much sweeter and meaningful when our team can give a stiff challenge to our overseas competitors, and at the same time we hope they will gain valuable experience to become professional athletes in the near future,"she said. According to Suriati, the Federal Government and State Government always support and encourage the youths to engage in beneficial activities, especially sports and recreation to promote and practice a healthy lifestyle. Fredie also encouraged cycling fans to be a part of the action by joining the Tour of Borneo Fan Club page on Facebook. "Our fans will get the latest news about the race, see photos, even post their own photos to the page and also give their opinions for further betterment of the event. We are still learning as we go and it is important to get feedback from the public and especially from our fans so we can improve." "Cycling fans can log in to our official website www.tourofborneo.com and click on the Facebook link to our Fan Club page, I am excited to see the responses and hope all of our Sabah fans will join in the action," he added. The 2.2 category Tour is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and is listed in UCI Asian Tour calendar, it is hoped to promote Sabah as the ultimate sports tourism destination in Malaysia, and promote cycling in the State. Tour of Borneo covers a total distance of 758.4 kilometres, will start from Semporna and will pass through pictureque locations of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Sepilok, Kundasang and ends in Kota Kinabalu. 20 professional teams consisting of continental, national and club teams have confirmed their participation and will be accompanied by over 520 race officials. In addition to a challenging route, Tour of Borneo will also held at a time of various festivals held in Sabah such as Regatta Lepa Lepa, Sabah Fest, Borneo International Marathon and Kadazan Harvest Festival celebrations which kicks off on 1st May, providing an opportunity for fans from within and outside the country to experience the joy of a holiday in the State. Tour of Borneo will be monitored by UCI President Commissaire from New Zealand, Zac Prendergast. The organiser's main objective is to promote interest in cycling among the younger generations in Sabah, and expose Malaysian riders to more international level competition, thus contributing to the development of cycling in Malaysia. Source : Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: A total of 120 cyclists comprising 20 teams including a Sabah team have confirmed to compete in Sabah's first international cycling road race, the Tour of Borneo 2012 to commence from April 27 to May 1. Tour of Borneo (ToB) organising chairman, Dato' Fredie Sua said the inaugural race in Sabah will feature cyclists from Malaysia and more than 10 countries are participating in the race. He said a total of six professional teams from Malaysia are participating while the remaining teams come from continental, national and club teams from all over Asia, Europe, United States of America, New Zealand, Australia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Philippine, and Brunei Darussalam, among others, and will be accompanied by over 520 race officials. The championship is rated 2.2 by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and listed on UCI's Asian Tour calendar. Fredie said this international race has fulfilled all vital requirements and it is at par with the 'Jelajah Malaysia' Cycling and the annual Le Tour De Langkawi. "The Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman will do the flag-off on April 27 to begin the race at Semporna. And the Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin together with the race's Honorary Patron, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will grace the closing ceremony to receive the final winner here on May 1. "ToB is a five-stage race that covers a total distance of 758.4 kilometres starting at Semporna and passing through picturesque locations of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Sepilok, Kundasang and ends in the State Capital here," he said. Fredie said this to reporters after paying a courtesy call to the Head of State Tun Juhar Mahirudin at the Istana Negeri here on Wednesday. He also presented a special invitation to the Head of State to grace the closing ceremony of the event with Dr. Mahathir early next month. Juhar also witnessed a handing over of a mock cheque of RM100,000 from a Sarawak-based company, Sutranah Development Sdn Bhd Chairman Datuk Lau Chen Kiong to Fredie as the ToB's organiser. Fredie said the race will introduce a new challenge featuring the most gruelling and longest ride from Sepilok to Kundasang for a total distance of 215km for the fourth stage. "Basically the Le Tour De Langkawi has featured its longest challenge of 190km, so far, and the highest peak was going up the Genting Highlands in Kuala Lumpur. "Our ToB 2012 race includes a tough challenge from Sepilok in Sandakan to Kundasang, Ranau where most of the road condition is going uphill to the foot of Mount Kinabalu. This is the new challenge that we are introducing to the riders in this edition," he said. On cash prizes, Fredie said the ToB offers total prizes of RM110,000 for the five-stage race with cash prizes to riders who place number 1 to 20th placing. Apart from the cash prizes, a winner will be declared in each stage and the stage champion will be given a colour jersey to be worn. He cited the champion will be given the Sabah State Government logo, a green jersey under Berjaya Group, and blue jersey under State Youth and Sport Ministry, among others. He hopes this inaugural cycling race in Sabah will be part of the State's annual calendar for sport and tourism like the Borneo Marathon and International Climbathon. "We hope that this sport event will promote the State's tourism industry to the outside world and to let them know that Borneo has roads as well as capable of organising a challenging cycling competition at international level, here. "Other objectives include to promote interest in cycling among the younger generations in Sabah and expose Malaysian riders to more international level of competition, thus contributing to the development of cycling in Malaysia." Earlier, the Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin said he is very happy to be a part of the historical event as the race will bring great improvement in the development of cycling in the State. "I hope through ToB, the people especially fans of cycling in this country will able to feel the excitement of a cycling tour. And at the same time, highlighting the uniqueness of the rich culture and our friendly hospitality to the competitors and officials from overseas that will be here for the first time in Sabah," he said. Source : Daily Express

KOTA KINABALU:  Tour operators were yesterday urged to send their coach drivers to undergo lessons in defensive driving to become better drivers in the effort to avoid untoward incidents involving tourists. Commissioner of Police, Dato’ Haji Hamza Taib, said during a press conference after a meeting involving the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, the Sabah Tourism Board, the police, MATTA Sabah and the Sabah Tourists Guide Association at a leading hotel, drivers operating tour coaches must also be made to understand that their role is to ensure the safety of the tourists. Hamza also disclosed that the recent accident involving Australian tourists was due to a problem with the brakes of the vehicle. “Nevertheless, we consider human error to be one of the factors,” he said. Statistics provided by his department indicated that there were 20 accidents involving tour coaches and 16 accidents involving express tour vehicles last year and since the beginning of this year up until yesterday, four accidents involving tour coaches and five involving express tour vehicles had occurred. Hamza made an urging for tour operators to ensure their vehicles are maintained in tip-top condition. “Make sure the buses are well-kept and maintained before use for long haul journeys. One has to understand that Sabah’s roads are curvy and long-winding through the hilly parts,” he said. He also encouraged operators who could afford to purchase new coaches to ferry tourists around, to do so. He added that tour coach drivers each has a role in ensuring the tourism industry in Sabah continues to thrive. “Tourism is one of the State’s main income earner with RM4.977 billion generated last year,” he said. Meanwhile, MATTA Sabah chairman, K.L. Tan said that most tourists who come to visit Sabah have found the State to be a safe destination. Source : Borneo Post