SUBANG -- John Derrick Farr and Leah Belgira settled for sixth-place finishes in their respective divisions of the mountain bike cycling’s downhill event on Monday, as host Indonesia swept the gold medals in the 2018 Asian Games.

Farr, 22, finished eight seconds slower than gold medal winner Khoiful Mukhib, who finished in two minutes and 16.687 seconds.

Belgira, who like Farr is 22 and making her Asian Games debut, was 22 seconds off another local bet, Tiara Andini Prastika (2:33.056).

PhilCycling’s MTB commission chairman, Oscar “Boying” Rodriguez, acknowledged that the Indonesians exploited their home-court advantage.

Organizers allowed only one track walk and a tight three-hour practice ride for all foreign riders on the eve of the competitions, while the Indonesians, as hosts, had the luxury of making the course their home for the last three months.

“Had we ridden the course several times, we could have done better, if not vied for the podium,” said Farr, who bagged a bronze medal as a junior in the 2014 Asian championships Indonesian hosted in Sumatra.

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For Belgira, her sixth-place finish only served as motivation.

“I will train some more and focus on competitions like the Asian Games,” she said.

Chinese-Taipei’s Chiang Shengshang (1.493 seconds behind) clinched silver and Thailand’s Suebsakun Sukchanya (1.762 behind) bagged bronze in the men’s contest.

It was a 1-3 finish for Indonesia in the women’s race with Nining Porwaningsih completing the podium behind silver medalist Vipavee Deekaballes of Thailand.

Members of the Philippine secretariat in Jakarta, meanwhile, earned applause for their conscientious effort to have the bikes of Farr and Ariana Thea Patrice Dormitorio brought here in time for the races.

Philippine Sports Commission head of travel Maita Linco and Secretariat head Arturo Aro made sure the bikes—which were bumped off from the Philippine Airlines flight that was cancelled because of the runway mess caused by a Xiamen Airlines plane last Friday—reached the athletes in time for their competitions.

Dormitorio was glad to train on her personal bike on Monday after making do with a bike and cycling shoes lent to her by the host federation.

Dormitorio and Nino Surban will race in MTB’s crosscountry on Tuesday.

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