Sohrabi holds off peloton to win opening stage

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Iran's Mehdi Sohrabi (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) won the opening stage of the Jelajah Malaysia, just barely holding off the peloton after being in a breakaway for the final 60km.

Sohrabi, the overall winner of the 2007 Jelajah Malaysia, topped breakaway companion Mart Ojavee (Champion System) by two seconds while Hariff Salleh (Terengganu Cycling Team) won the field sprint for third place, a further two seconds back.

With the victory Sohrabi takes over the general classification lead and holds a six-second advantage over Ojavee and an eight-second margin ahead of Salleh.

"There were many breakaways today and I started about 60 kilometres from the finish. I was always at the front and I had the victory on my mind," said Sohrabi.

"I knew when we were nearing the finish in the final kilometres that the peloton was coming very close. But I also saw that there was a chance to go for the win, so in the final 200 metres I just looked ahead and put all my focus on sprinting to the finish line.

"I won today and have the yellow jersey, but this is not a confirmed overall win. There are many good riders in this race and I expect the lead to change everyday."

Tomorrow the peloton will tackle stage two of the Jelajah Malaysia, 204.4km from Bandar Penawar to Kluang, which is the second longest of the race.