Tour de France beckons for two Thai winners
SURIYA Kitjaroenwat and Petchapeirin Lopez de Leor clinched the men’s and women’s yellow jerseys in L’Etape Thailand by Tour de France yesterday in Phang Nga, earning berths in the 2019 event at the Tour de France itself.
Suriya crossed the finish line in 3.28.13 hours to win the 140km race through spectacular scenery on the Andaman coast, from the Tsunami Memorial Park to Takua Pa district, in the Southeast Asia’s L’Etape debut.
In the women’s overall category, Petchapeirin timed 3:50.48. Each Thai racer will take part in L’Etape Tour de France next year – a chance to ride a stage with amateurs during the race – with round-trip-tickets, two nights’ accommodation and Bt200,000 prize money.
The men’s green jersey for King of the Sprints (300 metres) was won by Nattaphon Boonrod in 19.88 seconds, while Sinsupha Yibmuntasiri won the women’s competition in 27.917s.
The polka-dot King of the Mountain’s jersey (2.9km) was donned by Wanawat Klaitong for his time of 5.52min, with Sinsupha claiming the women’s jersey in 8.41. The race was attended by two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Spain and attracted over 1,500 competitors and more than 10,000 fans.
