Cambodia: The Ancient Khmer Path

STAGE 1 (34.2 km): Spaniards dominate on the first day of racing

(submitted) / 19.11.2012

By Saturday night, the international crowd of racers had gathered in Camp 1, a Buddhist temple, where they would spend their final night before heading out on the 235 km race course.

On Sunday, at 8:00 sharp, 29 racers representing 15 countries were blessed by the local monks before heading out on today’s 34.2 km route.

Salvador Calvo Redondo from Spain won the stage in 2:52, followed by the impressive Manuel Pastor, also from Spain, coming from behind and finishing just 8 minutes behind Salva.

Third place went to Canadian Simon Donato with 3:06.

The first woman was Britain’s Sophie Power, in 3:41, finishing 7th overall and leaving most of the men behind. The second woman was Ireland’s Aisling Coppinger in 3:57, followed by Valerie Levai from France in 4:07.

The second stage tomorrow will be 40.0 km, with its finish at Preah Khan Temple