Australian riders filled the top 12 places at the end of stage one of the inaugural Tour de Timor, which kicked off in East Timor's capital Dili this morning.

Neil Van der Ploeg (3:58.12) was the first to finish, coming in ahead of Mark Frendo (3:59.50) and Brendan Brooks (3:59.50), while East Timor's Joao dos Santos and Jacinto da Costa finished in 29th and 30th respectively out of the field of 280.

Another Australian, Tory Thomas, was the first woman over the line in Baucau district at the end of the 130-kilometer stage.

The above results were called and texted to me. Click here for my story on AFP about the start of the race.

Addendum: Just a quick note to say that the last time I went to Baucau on the back of a motorbike (two of us were on the bike), I think it took about four hours for us to get there.