Hot in the heels was Siddiqe Masih of SSGC, who pedaled hard, particularly in the last kilometer of the race when he outmaneuvered Naimat Ali, also of SSGC to finish second on the 150 km stretch.
Masih who hails from Lahore arrived in second, a mere 8 seconds behind the winner Sabir. It was undoubtedly SSGC's day as another one of its cyclists Naimat Ali was third overall clocking 3 hours, 49 minutes and 43 seconds although for most part of the race he was at least a kilometer ahead from the runner-up Siddique Masih.
Canadian Layy Zimich Wayne who finished third yesterday on the Hyderabad-Moro trail managed fourth place while New Zealand's Robin Read, the first stage race winner and Mohammad Ashraf of Pakistan Railway secured fourth and fifth places respectively, all three of them reaching the finishing line in 3 hours, 50 minutes and 31 seconds.
The third stage has seen a total turnaround from the first two stages which saw the international riders Robin Read and Justin Kerr of New Zealand who led the pack on the first two stages respectively with Canadians Layy Zimich Wayne and Matthew Usborne and Sri Lankan rider Sudeera Nilanga showing their prowess on the bergs. The outcome leaves the race wide open and even more intriguing since each day is bringing with it a new winner.
Early this morning, fifty cyclists left Moro-Sukkur bypass at 8.35 am. Brigadier Mukhtar Ahmed, Director General (Security) SSGC saw off the riders by waving a flag and awarding Justin Kerr who topped the second stage between Hyderabad and Moro with a yellow jersey as part of the Tour de races tradition.
The weather was hazy but cool when the race took off almost on schedule at 8:48am yet as the cyclists approached Sukkur temperature started to soar. The heat was a bit too much to bear for the Kiwi and Canadian cyclists who had dominated the first two stages held on comparatively cooler conditions. Yet, they battled on and despite the growing heat continued to ride in earnest.
The first km saw all fifty cyclists moving in tandem till the first break saw four riders snatching the initiative and from that point onwards, it was anybody's game although Pakistani riders proved their mettle today and gave their foreign counterparts a run for the money.
On arrival in Sukkur, the District Nazim Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Mohammad Shafiq Khoro, DCO Sukkur, Ibrahim Mehsar, EDO Sukkur, PCF officials and hundreds of local citizens cheered the riders, particularly the foreign cyclists, and showered flowers on them. A colourful ceremony was held in which the District Nazim garlanded the first three position holders and presented them with the traditional Sindhi ajrak.
The gruelling two-week cycling event, Asia's longest race and jointly organised by Pakistan Cycling Federation and SSGC, features foreign teams constituting Canada, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and New Zealand cyclists, apart from hosts Pakistan. Cyclists from four provinces of Pakistan and four departmental teams including SSGC, WAPDA, Pakistan Railways and Pakistan Army are also participating in one of Asia's biggest cycling events.
The riders are covering a distance of 1,648 km with the race culminating on March 16, 2007 at Qila Bala Hisar in Peshawar with further stopovers at Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Sahiwal, Lahore, Gujrat and Rawalpindi.-PR