Follow Hong Kong Investment Immigration and Hong Kong News: On the afternoon of October 21, the second stage of the 2013 Tour of Hainan International Road Cycling Race from Chengmai to Haikou concluded. Cheung King-wai of the Hong Kong, China team won the blue jersey, while Moreno Hofland of the Dutch team retained the yellow and green jerseys.
Cheung King-wai is 28 years old this year. He won a gold medal in the 40km points race at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and was awarded the Medal of Honour by the Hong Kong government. In 2010, he represented Hong Kong, China at the Guangzhou Asian Games, winning a silver medal in the men's team pursuit.
During the early part of today's race, Cheung King-wai led the peloton alone for a long time before being gradually caught in the middle and latter stages. "My form was good today, and I will strive to keep the blue jersey," Cheung told reporters with a smile after the race. "However, I am not very good at mountain stages, so I hope for more flat stages."
When the blue jersey was presented to Cheung King-wai after the race, his retired senior teammate Wong Kam-po—the flag bearer for the Hong Kong delegation at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and hailed by Hong Kong media as the "Asian Cycling God"—appeared at the ceremony and was warmly applauded by the host and the audience.
The rider from whom Cheung King-wai took the blue jersey was Anuar Manan, a Malaysian rider for the Synergy Baku Cycling Project team from Azerbaijan. When asked about his feelings on the race, Anuar said, "I think I performed well, the course environment is great, but today's race was very tough. I want to strive for a stage victory in the upcoming races."
Anuar Manan was born in 1986 in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. He began his professional career in 2007, joined the Synergy Baku Cycling Project team in 2013, and won the fifth stage of the 6th Tour of Hainan International Cycling Race in 2011.
In the second stage, Theo Bos and Moreno Hofland of the Belkin Pro Cycling team finished first and second, respectively, while Yannick Martinez of the La Pomme Marseille team took third place.