After five competitive stages, the Kiwi cyclist finished the race, with the lowest overall time of 18 hours, 11 minutes, and 43 seconds and brought home the Pertamina Red Jersey as the winner.
"We are very happy to win this race. What I achieved today required hard work. The track was so challenging as there were several climbs and long descents," Whitehouse remarked.
The 121.5-kilometer (km)-long stage was from Ruteng to Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.
Benjamin Prades of Team Ukyo crossed the finish line and won the fifth stage in three hours, 17 minutes, and 50 seconds, followed by Ricardo Garcia of the Kinan Cycling Team in the second place, with an identical time.p
Whitehouse came third with a three-second gap behind the winner.
Meanwhile, Indonesias national cyclist, Robin Manullang, who tailed on a second overall best until the penultimate stage, dropped to the fifth position after failing to finish in the top ten in the last stage.
However, Manullang became the fastest Asian rider and won the blue jersey in the 2016 Tour de Flores.
The 2015 SEA Games gold medalist Manullang was also awarded a red and white jersey for being the fastest Indonesian cyclist.
"It was so challenging. I had to fight hard since the first designated climb (King of Mountain). I could have caught up, but on the third climb, I was way behind the front group," Manullang recalled.
The 2016 Tour de Flores, which is classified as a 2.2-category race by the Union Cycliste Internationale, was considered a success in its maiden year.
Tour de Flores was expected to offer spectacular views and be more challenging than other bicycle races in Indonesia, such as the Tour de Singkarak and Tour de Banyuwangi.
Tour de Flores covered a distance of 615 km, starting from Larantuka, East Flores, on May 19, and concluded in Labuan Bajo on May 23.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
