McConnell's the man as punctures cost AJ another win

Twenty five-year-old Australian Dan McConnell snatched victory over the vicious Bobonaro Mountain Range on Day 2 of the 2010 Tour de Timor Ride for Peace after two punctures ruined the chances of yesterday's stage winner Adrian Jackson (AJ).

And the bad luck didn't stop with AJ. Vicious pot-holes, near-vertical drop-offs, water from overnight rain and - simply - very, very bad tracks tested every rider and their equipment. Many bikes were damaged.

Steele von Hoff, who cramped up minutes from the end yesterday, came off his bike at high speed just 100 metres from the finish today, but still managed second. AJ finished third.

McConnell came in at 3:45:20, with von Hoff one minute and 15 seconds away and AJ at 3:48:44.

"It was pretty much hard from the gun," McConnell said, "it was only 30km or so until you hit the first climb, and it was a pretty fast pace up that hill. It was really hot. There were exposed hills, not much shade and no wind.

"I was cramping up but managed to hang in there."

Von Hoff suffered nasty gravel rash to his forearm and hip from his fall. "One hundred metres to go," he said, "I don't know what happened, I hit a pot hole and went over. I can't believe it."

Straight out of Balibo, riders were challenged with a winding 450-metre descent over a tar road strewn with potholes and wicked drop-offs. The town of Maliana makes for a gentler pace before the inevitable climb begins. The initial 500 metres of roughly-tarred switchback into the spectacular Bobonaro mountains gives way to an extremely rough dirt road passing through mountainside villages climbing to a maximum 1500 metres. The last section of today's demanding ride took in undulating ridgelines leading into a long descent from the high grasslands to the tropical rain-forested lowlands and after a torturous first two days finally ended in Suai.

Rowena Fry again led the women in, finishing 10th in 4:23:05. "The way the hills were, I couldn't really ride with the other girls," said Fry. "It made it a very individual kind of race." She is well ahead of her nearest female rider.

Jacinto da Costa was the first of the Timor-Leste National Team riders home in a time of 4:37:59. His teammate and brother Orlando da Costa finished in 4:38:21. The two brothers train together and work together during the races. Jacinto led the entire peloton into Maliana and the town went berserk.

David da Costa, no relation to the others, but a good friend, rides in the Timor-Leste National Team. He has just turned 15 years of age, is about 1.5 metres high and weighs around 35 kilograms. His bike is nearly bigger than him. Remarkably, he only started riding mountain bikes four months ago. But this amazing little powerhouse is hanging in there with riders two, three and four times his age.

"It (yesterday) wasn't too bad," he said through an interpreter. "It wasn't really that hard. I like riding. It's great fun." David da Costa goes to Sao Jose Balide school. His brother and sister do not have bikes but are keen to start the sport as well.

A UN team member was airlifted to Dili from Balibo last night suffering from severe heat stroke. Another rider broke his collarbone when he had a spectacular spill after hitting a goat. He was taken to Dili by ambulance.

Race note

The church and school on today's finish line hold a significant place in the history of Timor-Leste's independence struggle. In 1999, more than 300 unarmed locals - including priests - were massacred by the occupying forces in the town and in a building at the back of the school. Today, Sister Elsa runs an orphanage for about 60 girls at the school. The magnificent cathedral is expected to be completed next year and most of the artisans working on it are Indonesians.

Full Results for day 2 (all categories combined)

General classification after day 2(for all categories combined)