NUR AMIRUL GRABS OVERDUE STAGE WIN FOR TSG

Nur Amirul Fakhruddin wins stage 4 at Kudat

Stage 4 Winners

Jersey leaders after stage 4

KUDAT : Another exciting stage of the Tour of Borneo saw Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki emerging from the shadows of his more illustrious teammates to clinch an unexpected victory in stage four today.

The Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) rider crossed the line in three hours, 43 minutes and 36 seconds after covering 149.5km from Tuaran to Kudat. New Zealand's Thomas Hubbard (Data #3 Symantec Racing Team) and Peeter Pruus (Rietmu-Delfin Continental Cycling Team) finished second and third.

Pruus now leads the general classification but Nur Amirul is a close second, only 1:21s behind the Estonian as the Tour of Borneo moves into its final stage tomorrow.

Amirul has already achieved podium finishes at the Tour of Poyang Lake and Tour of Singkarak earlier this season and said he is happy to add another feather to his cap.

TSG's Mohd Harrif Saleh came close to winning a stage when finished third and second in stage two and three earlier in the Tour of Borneo.

"Obviously, I am really happy to get this win. To be honest, I did not set out today expecting to do it," said the 23-year-old, who is the first Malaysian to win a stage in the Tour of Borneo this year.

"Initially my role was to help Mohd Harrif win the stage but he felt tired after the climbs and told me to push ahead.

"It feels great to be second in the GC but I expect the fight for the yellow jersey to be tough tomorrow as there are a lot of good climbers.

"But I will try my best and we will see how things go."

Amirul's win saw him displace Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi (Police) as the Asian classification leader and will wear the white jersey in what is expected to be a grueling final stage.

Harrif's hopes of ending the tour with the green jersey are looking good as he took the lead in the sprints competition for a first time with a good showing in the intermediate sprints in stage four while Pegasus Continental Cycling Team's Agung Ali Sahbana took the red jersey from Pruus.

Stage five will see riders covering 181.1km, the longest in the Tour of Borneo, with a steep climb up to Kundasang (1,519m) set to put their endurance to the test. 

Tour of Borneo is organized by Borneo International Cycling, held from 31st October to 4th November 2015. 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.