Global Riders to Watch: Tour of Thailand 2022
For the first five stages of the 2022 Tour of Thailand we will have sprint-fest. Then on the sixth and final stage, we end with a brutal 1 kilometre climb to decide the GC.
This is such an intriguing and diverse startlist. Some of Asia's best talents are here and they are ready to show what they can do.
Sarawut Sirironnachai
29, Thailand, Thailand Continental Team
3rd on GC last year with a stage win. Sirironnachai is one of the most talented Thai riders around. He has racked up four stage wins over the past three editions of the Tour of Thailand. He also has a number of other good GC results across the Asian races.
This is a man who know how to race these races and how to pick up big results. He could be in for another podium result this year.
Thanakhan Chaiyasombat
22, Thailand, Thailand Continental Team
Chaiyasombat really showed his potential in last year's Tour of Thailand. He finished 14th overall with 5th on the last stage which ended with a short climb - much like this year's race. The year previous, he finished even higher, 6th overall. He was also 16th in Langkawi that year.
He's a talented rider and he's riding for a strong, motivated team. This could be a breakthrough race for the young man.
Thanawut Sanikwathi
28, Thailand, Thailand Continental Team
A two-time stage winner at this race, Sanikwathi will be confident going into this week. He's most likely to be the sprinter for Thailand Conti Team and will get good support.
The sprinting level is decent at this race, but Sanikwathi has a chance to pull off another win this week.
Aidan Mendoza
22, Philippines, Go for Gold Philippines
One of a number of talented young riders from the Philippines emerging at the moment.
Mendoza is in great form, winning a stage and taking several top-10s at the recent Ronda Pilipinas. He also has previous at this race, taking four top-10s in sprint stages last year. He is certainly one to watch in the flat stages again this year.
Irwandie Lakasek
27, Malaysia, Terengannu Polygon Cycling Team
Irwandie Lakasek is one of the best sprinters on the Asian race circuit. He proved that last year with two second places on stages at this race. He's backed that up this year with another second place at GP Gazipasa in a field slightly better in terms of sprinting than this one.
He will hope to break his run of second places and win one of the many stages that suit him this week. He will have some tough competition though against the likes of Carstensen and Banaszek.
Mohammed Mohd Shukri
23, Malaysia, Team Sapura Cycling
Shukri put in a brilliant ride here last year to finish 4th on the final stage hill-top finish. That took him to 5th overall, the best result of his career.
He will hope to back that up with a good GC performance this week. Realistically, repeating that performance of last year would be a good result.
Marcelo Felipe
32, Philippines, 7 Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Roadbike Philippines
Marcelo Felipe has just come off a big ten days racing the crazy Ronda Pilipinas race in his home country. There were huge time-gaps in this race, showing just how tough it was. Felipe was slightly below his usual level there. Perhaps he has been riding himself into form for this race.
Felipe is a talented punchy climber who was 6th here in 2021. He will be hoping to make any splits in the peloton and to contend with the big guys on stage six.
Yuma Koishi
28, Japan, Team UKYO
Yuma Koishi is a name that may be a little familiar. He rode for two years on Nippo-Vini Fantini in 2016 and 2017, even riding Il Lombardia in 2016. He's had experience throughout his career riding all over the world.
Since 2018 he has ridden for UKYO racing mostly in Asia. He claimed 5th overall at the Tour of Japan last year.
He has some big team leaders to support this week, but it would be great to see him showing his talent a bit.
Metkel Eyob
28, Eritrea, Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team
Another talented Eritrean! After the success of his friends over the past week he will be motivated to show his ability here.
Metkel is one of those talented African riders who slipped through the net, never getting the opportunity to ride at a higher level. After finishing with the Qhubeka Conti Team in 2017, he moved to Terengganu, a team which has been very good to him. His twice coming 2nd at the Tour du Rwanda with three stage wins and 9th overall in Tour de Hongrie(with Pogacar in 3rd) wasn't enough to secure him a contract with Qhubeka.
He's taken three wins in his time at the Malaysian team and has taken a string of top GC results in big Asian races. He will look to make his mark on the final stage and is a good bet to be at least on the final GC podium.
Polychronis Tzortzakis
33, Greece, Kuwait Pro Cycling Team
Big Pol is becoming a regular feature in these posts!
In February he grew his fan-base with a brilliantly attacking ride in Saudi Tour. He was in the break on four out of five stages, narrowly missing out on the Sprints jersey. He tried again for the Sprints jersey in the South Aegean Tour and was more successful on that occasion.
Expect more of the same this week. Pol will attack and will hope to win a stage from a break. With the strength of the teams here, he's got a great chance.
Salim Kipkemboi
23, Kenya, Bike Aid
Salim burst onto the scene in 2018 at the tender age of 19, taking a fantastic stage win in Sharjah Tour. He beat Lebas, Moreno and Rebellin in a sprint after a hard day (Were you watching, Qhubeka?)
He is obviously immensely talented, but has never managed to push on and take more results in Europe or Asia. Having said that, last year he took a quietly impressive 19th among World Tour opposition at Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana on Mallorca.
Hopefully this is the year that Salim can pick up some big results and prove his talent. A top result on stage six here would be a good start.
Maris Bogdanovics
30, Latvia, MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling
Bogdanovics is a very strong rider. He probably deserves to have ridden at a higher level in his career, but has instead stayed and Continental level.
He is used to riding in Asia having had a year at Interpro. He has taken four wins in Asia over his career. He may add to that here possibly in a sprint.
Sang Hong Park
32, South Korea, LX Cycling Team
8th on GC in 2021, Park will be hoping for an equally impressive result this time.
Park has spent the last seven years racing with the South Korean LX Cycling Team. His best result is winning the Asian Continental Championships in 2017, sprinting to beat World Tour opposition including Fumy Beppu and Yousef Mirza. He also won a stage of Le Tour de Filipinas in 2017 in another small group sprint.
He will be hoping that he can do the same in this race; squeezing his way into a small escape group to sprint for the win.
Chien Liang Chen
28, Taiwan, MEIYO CCN Pro Cycling
One of the best riders to come out of Taiwan, Chien Liang Chen has been racing on Conti teams since 2012.
He has some good results to his name. In 2020, he scored two top-10s in the New Zealand Cycle Classic among riders who are now in the World Tour. He also has a string of top results across big races on the Asia Tour. A good sprinter, he claimed 3rd on the final stage of the Tour of Fuzhou in 2019 and is current Taiwan national champion (although that hasn't been run since 2020).
There are plenty of sprint stages in this race, hopefully Chen can claim a big result.
Ahmed Naser
21, Bahrain, Bahrain Cycling Academy
Ahmed Naser is one of a few decent-looking prospects from Bahrain. He is steadily building his experience. He has raced in the UAE, Greece and the Asian Champs in Tajikistan already this season. This race provides him with a good opportunity to build that experience.
His best results came this year in the Tour of Sharjah where he finished 30th in the opening TT and in the select front group on the last stage. Nothing major, but heading in the right direction.
Ariya Phounsavath
31, Laos, Thailand Continental Cycling Team
You don't often see a rider from Laos on a UCI start-list, let alone one with big wins to his name.
Phounsavath was the winner of the Cambodia Bay Cycling Tour in 2020, winning the first stage in a big solo breakaway and holding on. He followed that up late in the season with a solid 12th place on GC at the Tour of Thailand - he has a good record at this race. He managed to infiltrate a strong breakaway in that edition, perhaps that is something he can do again this year.
He has a number of other top Asian stage race results, with 1st in the Tour of Indonesia, 3rd in Tour de Singkarak and 5th and Le Tour de Filipinas. This guy knows how to go well at an Asia Tour stage race. It would be unwise to bet against him in this race.
That is also four very strong riders for Thailand Continental Cycling Team. They should be up there this week. It would be great to see that team get more opportunities to race outside of Asia.
