THE FIGHT FOR YELLOW IS MORE OPEN THAN EVER

KUALA TERENGGANU, WEDNESDAY, 30th JANUARY 2013 - The Terengganu state government were today announced as Yellow jersey sponsor of the 18th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) and it could not have come at a better time.

With five Pro Teams set to line up for the presentation of Le Tour de Langkawi on February 20 on the island paradise where the race was born in 1996, Malaysia’s world class cycling event is entering a new era after four consecutive years of South American domination.

“The fight for the yellow jersey is more open than ever”, said LTdL chief operating officer Emir Abdul Jalal. “Looking at the provisional start list, I can see the names of more than twenty potential winners coming from all five continents.”

In announcing Terengganu's sponsorship which also includes the yellow jersey for the overall leader of the race, Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Ahmad Said said this link with one of the biggest international sporting events held in the country bides well with the state's objectives to promote the Visit Terengganu Year 2013.

"The yellow jersey this time will feature the Visit Terengganu Year 2013 theme prominently and this provides immense branding for the state. This is why the state government has decided to capitalize on this opportunity to promote the state via LTdL, which is recognised as a major international cycling event," said Dato' Seri Ahmad.

"The sponsorship of the yellow jersey means the Visit Terengganu Year 2013 will be highly visible during the race, with the leader of the race attracting a lot of media attention. This will only help provide us with the required impact in meeting the objectives of Visit Terengganu Year 2013.

"Apart from the yellow jersey, the organisers have also given us the opportunity to once again host the final three stages of the race in Terengganu, which provides further promotion for the state, particularly via three hours of continuous broadcast by international and local TV stations. This will ultimately provide numerous economical and promotional benefits to the people of Terengganu.”

"The people will also get to enjoy up close a world class cycling event in their own back yard."

This year's LTdL event is also tied in an agreement with the Eurosport channel, which broadcasts the event to over 600 million television viewers worldwide and this, Dato' Seri Ahmad added, provides a significant boost in not just raising the prestige of the race, but also in providing the impact for promotional and branding activities of sponsors.

Only two previous overall winners will be on the start line: Colombians Freddy Gonzalez who is not exactly a favorite anymore at the age of 38 and Venezuelans Yonathan Monsalve who has not yet won another race since his triumph on Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur two years ago. The latter recently performed four times in the top ten of stages at the Vuelta Tachira in his country and hopes for his move to Vini Fantini, the Italian team previously known as Farnese Vini, to restart his career on a high note.

“After watching Pierre Rolland winning a mountain stage at the Tour de France in the past two years, I’d love to see him giving a great show in Malaysia as well, we know that he’ll come here with an enormous motivation”, Emir Abdul Jalal noted. While Monsalve competed in South America, the Frenchman from Europcar resumed racing last week in Africa as he rode the Tropicale Amissa-Bongo in Gabon in support of overall winner Yohann Gene who won the final stage of LTdL in 2009.

Other potential winners of LTdL completed the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia. Belgian strong man Serge Pauwels of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Australian climbing prodigy Lachlan Morton of Garmin-Sharp, Kazakhstani superstar Andrey Kashechkin of Astana came out of the first World Tour event of the year with the assurance of having the capacity to win LTdL because of the rhythm of racing that not all contenders will have in their legs at the end of February.

“Another big name on the start list is Cameron Meyer”, added Emir Abdul Jalal. “He’s a multiple world champion on the track. He has won the Santos Tour Down Under two years. He’s part of the great Orica-Greenedge team coming to Malaysia with Pieter Weening who is a stage winner at the Tour de France [in 2005] and a former pink jersey wearer at the Giro d’Italia [in 2011]. Australian champion for road race and time trial Luke Durbridge will be racing here as well. It’ll be fantastic! But in Asia, you can’t underestimate the chances of the riders who don’t belong to the World Tour. The win is open to everyone.”

Colombians Victor Nino who finished third last year will return with Taiwanese team RTS. Venezuelans Jackson Rodriguez is the man picked by Androni for moving up from fifth overall last year to the top spot this year. Denmark’s John Ebsen riding for Synergy Baku Cycling Project has the potential to emerge first atop Genting Highlands as he did at the Taiwan KOM challenge in November. South Africa’s Dennis van Niekerk from MTN is no stranger to making the top 5 at LTdL and he’s able to do it again.

Before the favourites for GC take the command after the mountain stages of Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands, the yellow jersey should be contested by the sprinters on the first two days. LTdL stage wins record holder Andrea Guardini has already put his hands up for wearing it again, as he did two years ago, but he knows that he’ll face a fierce competition from the likes of Theo Bos or Graeme Brown (Blanco), Bryan Coquard (Europcar), Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini), Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) or Koldo Fernandez (Garmin-Sharp).

“Let’s have a dream: a rider from Terengganu to wear the Terengganu yellow jersey”, Emir Abdul Jalal imagined. “Anuar Manan and Harrif Salleh are capable of winning a bunch sprint at Le Tour de Langkawi. It would be wonderful if it was the first one.”

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).

The overall winners of Le Tour de Langkawi:

1996: Damian McDonald (Aus)
1997: Luca Scinto (Ita)
1998: Gabriele Missaglia (Ita)
1999: Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita)
2000: Chris Horner (USA)
2001: Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita)
2002: Hernan Dario Munoz (Col)
2003: Tom Danielson (USA)
2004: Freddy Gonzalez (Col)
2005: Ryan Cox (RSA)
2006: David George (RSA)
2007: Anthony Charteau (Fra)
2008: Ruslan Ivanov (Mol)
2009: Jose Serpa (Col)
2010: Jose Rujano (Ven)
2011: Yonathan Monsalve (Ven)
2012: Jose Serpa (Col)

22 TEAMS SET TO PARTICIPATE IN 2013 LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI

KUALA LUMPUR, MONDAY 21 January 2013 - Five Pro Teams among a total of twenty-two will participate to the 18th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi, set to take place from February 21 to March 2nd, 2013.

“Our event didn’t reach that number of teams representing the World Tour since 2007”, noted the chief operating officer Emir Abdul Jalal. “Added to the quality of Pro Continental teams like Europcar coming with Pierre Rolland, we clearly have the best start list of the past decade. Now it’s up to the cyclists to deliver the show and to the riders of lower leveled teams to challenge the stars of the Pro Teams.”

New comers to LTdL will be the former Rabobank team renamed Blanco, Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Orica-GreenEdge while Garmin-Sharp and Astana will return for the second year in a row. “Their second enrolment back to back is meaningful to us”, said Emir Abdul Jalal. “It clearly shows that they’ve appreciated the quality of our organization. They have reiterated their long-term commitment to LTdL.”

Astana’s links with the race goes as far back as in 1997 when Alexandre Vinokourov took part as a member of the Kazakh national team and got noticed in Malaysia by European scouts. He came back on the final year of his career and prepared on Malaysian soil his campaign to the road race Olympic title that crowned his career in London in July last year.

Le Tour de Langkawi was the first appearance at the HC level of Slipstream Sport when they joined the Pro Continental ranks in 2007. They have only missed one edition since. Now called Garmin-Sharp, the American-registered outfit is one of the most prestigious in the world. In 2012, they have won their first Grand Tour with Ryder Hesjedal – a former mountain biker who initiated his road career with the 2002 Le Tour de Langkawi – at the Giro d’Italia.

The positive comments made by the representatives of Astana and Gamin-Sharp about the 2012 Le Tour de Langkawi have impacted the whole world of professional cycling. “While in the past it was up to us to contact the teams, some of them have questioned us about their possible participation to our race this year”, revealed Emir Abdul Jalal. “We’re sorry for the bidding teams of different categories and origins we couldn’t accommodate this time around but we’re delighted with the field we’ll be able to present to Malaysian fans.”

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
The 18th edition of the race is marked not only by its return to its legendary birthplace, but also a challenging route which features two tough climbs up Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.
The participating teams

Pro Tour
Garmin Sharp (GRS) - USA
Astana Pro Team (AST) - KAZ
Orica GreenEdge (OGE) - AUS
Blanco Pro Cycling Team (BLA) - NED
Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team (OPQ) - BEL

Pro-Continental
Vini Fantini (VIN) - GBR
Unitedhealthcare Pro Cycling Team (UHC) - USA
Champion System Pro Cycling Team (CSS) - CHN
Team Europcar (EUC) - FRA
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela (AND) - ITA
MTN - Qhubeka (MTN) - RSA

Continental
Tabriz Petrochemical Team (TPT) - IRI
RTS Racing Team (RTS) - TPE
Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) - MAS
OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team (TSI) - SIN
Team Nippo (PPO) - JPN
Aisan Racing Team (AIS) - JPN
KSPO (KSP) - KOR
Hengxiang Cycling Team (HEN) - CHN
Synergy - Baku Cycling Project

National
Malaysia National Cycling Federation
Indonesia National Team

THEO BOS TO LEAD BLANCO’S IMPRESSIVE SPRINTING TASK FORCE

 *Greame Brown (above) ready to lead Theo Bos (below) to multiple victories in LTdL 2013.

KUALA LUMPUR, WEDNESDAY 16 January 2013 - Formerly known as Rabobank since 1996, the Blanco Pro Cycling Team will make its first appearance at Le Tour de Langkawi from February 21 to March 2nd. The Dutch squad has clearly set its sights on bunch sprint finishes, as they’ll travel to Asia with their superstar Theo Bos and his lead-out man Graeme Brown who made a household name in Malaysia in the early days of his career.

“I see Le Tour de Langkawi as a good opportunity to get our sprint train on track”, Bos explained. “Doing sprints, getting experience, learning from mistakes… This race will be perfect because there are a lot of sprint stages.”

By selecting Jetse Bol, Tom Leezer, Marc Goos and Jos van Emden alongside Bos and Brown, the Blanco Pro Cycling Team has sent a signal to the rest of the field that they intend to compete strongly in the eight possible bunch sprint finishes out of ten stages.

Not only are they bringing sprinters but also some of their best lead out men. It has become Brown’s role in the past three years. Previously, the Australian was a sprinter himself. For seven years, he remained the recordman of stage victories at Le Tour de Langkawi, having scored nine times from 2002 to 2005. He claimed five trophies on his last participation to LTdL. Only last year, Andrea Guardini took him out of the record books as he won six stages and a total of eleven in two participations.

However, it’s pretty unlikely that Brown will ride to reach a new record, as Bos is ‘the boss’ when it comes down to sprinting for the Dutch outfit. The five times world champion on the track collected no less than seven victories in Europe last year in highly competitive World Tour class fields: Dwars Door Drenthe, two stages at the Tour of Turkey, one at the Eneco Tour, the Dutch food valley classic, stage 2 of the World’s Ports Classic and the Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen.

“We’ll be in Malaysia firstly for getting the new team together”, said a very humble Bos. “This is a new start for the former Rabobank. There are some new influences in the team, new staff members, new sports directors…, other ideas. The team focus on sprints is getting bigger and bigger. I really enjoy that. I hope it will bear fruit! Going to Le Tour de Langkawi, it’s a goal to come home with at least a win in our pockets. I really don’t know what to expect about the country. It’ll be my first visit, except from my stopovers at Kuala Lumpur airport (KLIA). I only know a few guys from the Malaysian track team like Josiah Ng.”

Bos, 29, is a former rival of Josiah as a keirin rider since the 2004 Athens Olympics where the Dutchman secured the silver medal in the individual sprint. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he successfully switched to road racing despite the enormous differences between the two sports in terms of physiological demands.

While sprinting requires some craziness, Bos is known as a true gentleman in the pro peloton.

“It’s a great honour for us to have such a great sporting hero coming to Malaysia and we’re delighted to welcome Brown back as his lead out man”, commented the chief operating officer of Le Tour de Langkawi Emir Abdul Jalal. “There’ll be some spectacular sprints on the road!”

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
The 18th edition of the race is marked not only by its return to its legendary birthplace, but also a challenging route which features two tough climbs up Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.

THE BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM FOR THE 2013 LTDL:

Theo BOS (NED), Graeme BROWN (AUS), Jetse BOL (NED), Tom LEEZER (NED), Marc GOOS (NED) and Jos VAN EMDEN (NED).

MALAYSIAN TIGERS PROMISE A BETTER SHOW IN LTDL 2013

BUKIT JALIL, MONDAY 14 January 2013 - Armed with a quartet of experienced hands and two promising youngsters, the Malaysian national team for the 18th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from February 21 to March 2 has been announced today with renewed hope of an impressive showing.

Trained by coach Aminudin Sulaiman since October 1, the team has shown marked improvement both in the local and international scene in their buildup to Asia's biggest race which is set for a ceremonial start in its legendary birthplace of Langkawi Island.

Aminudin has named experienced riders Amir Mustafa Rusli, Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi, Mohd Nor Rizuan Zainal and Muhamad Rauf Nur Misbah to lead the charge of the national team with youngsters Ahmad Fakhrullah Alias and Mohd Ekbar Zaman Huri to beef up their challenge.

The 24-year old Amir, who has been turning out for Australian professional team Drapac Cycling for the past three seasons will be making his fourth appearance in the race, this time teaming up with fellow-policeman Fauzan, 26, who is making a return to the race after three years.

Mohd Nor Ridzuan, 26, from the Armed Forces will be making his fifth appearance in the race, as is Mohd Rauf. Ahmad Fakhrullah, 23, will be having his second shot at the race, while Mohd Ekbar, 21, from Negri Sembilan will be making his debut.

The team was announced by president of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) Datuk Haji Abu Samah Wahab, who stated his confidence in the ability of the riders to show marked improvement this time around.

"We are confident that the team now has been able to focus on their objectives and hopefully produce improved results, although we will have one of the strongest fields ever for the LTdL this time around," said Datuk Abu Samah.

Officiating the function, in which Malaysian cycling apparel supplier Ciclista Sdn Berhad was also presented as sponsors of the national team and LTdL event partners, Ministry of Youth and Sports secretary general Dato' Mohid Mohamed expressed his confidence in the capabilities of the team.

"We are proud of the achievements of our cyclists. Although our road cyclists have yet to reach the heights of our track cyclists, there are some notable achievements like those of the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) who recently emerged overall winners of the UCI Asia Tour," said Dato' Mohid.

"We certainly hope that the riders in our national team are capable of giving us a surprise or two in the race this time, even if the field will comprise a very strong line-up of professional riders from around the world."

Much attention will be on Fauzan this time around, with the former national road champion having impressed in the MNCF National GP Series, where he closed accounts in the season with by emerging the overall time trial champion and finished it off with a dominant show in the final round in Melaka n December 30 and 31, where he won both the road race and time trial.

"I'm glad to be back in this race. For us Malaysian riders, this is the one race that we all look forward to. It is the biggest event for us. I have had to work hard to get back into this kind of form to enable myself to be considered for the national team. I am glad it has paid off, but this is just the start," said Fauzan.

"We don't want to enter the race just to make up the numbers and just to be there as representatives of the country. I am confident that our form has improved and this time we can provide a better performance."

Aminudin said the momentum has been good and with plans for an altitude training camp in Kunming, China, the preparations of the team would be complete.

"So far all the riders have shown marked improvement in their form. The drive is there and the momentum is there. I believe we have a good team this time around with a good balance of experienced riders and some young riders," said Aminudin.

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
The 18th edition of the race is marked not only by its return to its legendary birthplace, but also a challenging route which features two tough climbs up Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.

THE MALAYSIA NATIONAL TEAM FOR LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2013:

Amir Mustafa RUSLI, Mohd Fauzan AHMAD LUTFI, Mohd Nor Rizuan ZAINAL, Muhamad Rauf NUR MISBAH, Ahmad Fakhrullah ALIAS AND Mohd Ekbar ZAMAN HURI

A NEW WINNER TO EMERGE IN GENTING

KUALA LUMPUR, MONDAY, 7 JANUARY 2013 - Since the inception of Le Tour de Langkawi in 1996, only one edition of the race didn’t feature the ascent to Genting Highlands, as road works prevented the cyclists from riding up Malaysia’s legendary climb in 2008.

“When we look at the history of the race, we realized that something essential was missing that year, it’s no surprise that Genting was reinstated in the following edition and I can’t imagine Le Tour de Langkawi without Genting. This is definitely the queen-stage”, said the chief operating officer of Le Tour de Langkawi Emir Abdul Jalal.

The Genting Highlands stage is graded as a Hors category climb in the mountains classification and is the much awaited stage fir the riders competing in LTdL as it is the deciding factor in the race for the overall victory and the King of the Mountain (KOM) classification.

For the 18th edition of LTdL, Genting Malaysia Berhad once again continues its sponsorship with a contribution worth RM 800,000.00 in cash and kind, to ensure the success of the ‘Hottest race’ in Asia.  Genting Malaysia Berhad is also the sponsor for the red KOM jersey.

Genting Malaysia Berhad’s Vice President Corporate Services Dato’ Kay Prakash presented the  mock-cheque and LTdL 2013 KOM Red jersey  to the Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia YB Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek at Menara KBS Putrajaya.

“Genting Malaysia Berhad is honoured to once again become the official event sponsor for LTdL 2013 and to preserve this bond which has been forged since the inception of this prestigious cycling event in 1996,” said Dato’ Kay Prakash.

“The Le Tour de Langkawi is an internationally acclaimed cycling event that many enthusiasts of the sport look forward to every year, particularly the Genting ride, which is the fifth stage of the race,” she added.

Meanwhile, Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery also thanked Genting Malaysia Berhad for their continuous support of the race for the 18th time and hopes that their sponsorship continues to grow together with the race as it gains popularity among the ProTour teams.

In the past ten years, the late Ryan Cox from South Africa was the only rider able to beat the famous South American climbers when he clinched the overall title in 2005. Venezuelans and Colombians have what it takes to tackle the 25-km grueling climb as they hail from these kinds of mountains and usually make their way to Malaysia after an altitude training camp.

Last year, José Serpa scored an impressive fourth victory following his triple crown from 2006 to 2008 at the resort where he remains unbeaten. He won’t be in contention this time around as he has left the Androni Giocattoli team to upgrade to Pro Team Lampre-Merida. “It will definitely make the race more open this year”, explained Androni Giocattoli manager Gianni Savio who might have a less easy task directing to victory Venezuelans Carlos Ochoa and Jackson Rodriguez, the usual domestiques for Serpa.

The 2011 winner Jonathan Monsalve, also from Venezuela, will return after also changing team as he joined Vini Fantini, a squad that is no stranger to winning up to Genting Highlands as they did so with José Rujano in 2010 under the banner of ISD-Neri.

Savio stated that the door is open to a young talented climber to take over, citing his new Italian protégé Diego Rosa, 23, and his compatriot Fabio Aru, 22, riding for Astana. Pro Team Garmin-Sharp will line up Australian prodigy Lachlan Morton who collected a remarkable seventh place at Genting for his first participation to Le Tour de Langkawi in 2011 at the age of 19.

Spanish neo pro Carlos Verona, 20, beginning his career with giants Omega Pharma-Quick Step, will undergo the first big test of his career, while Malaysian fans have huge hopes for the emergence of 21 year old Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki of Terengganu (TSG) who brilliantly finished third at the top of the Ijen crater during the Banyuwangi Tour of Ijen last December.

However, all eyes will be on Pierre Rolland. The Frenchman who won an Alpine stage at the Tour de France in the past two years (L’Alpe d’Huez 2011 and La Toussuire 2012) is a clear favourite for the 2013 Le Tour de Langkawi, a race he discovered two years. “Since then, I’ve always wanted to come back because Genting Highlands is a mythical climb where I want to win”, warned the superstar of Europcar.

“With the fantastic start list we have in preparation, this looks like going to be the best Le Tour de Langkawi of the past ten years and the best stage up to Genting Highlands ever contested”, said Emir Abdul Jalal.

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1427.6 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
Previous winners of the LTdL Genting Highlands stage:

1996: Damian McDonald (Aus/Giant Australia)
1997: Luca Scinto (Ita/MG-Technogym)
1998: Giuliano Figueras (Ita/Mapei)
1999: Marcus Ljunqvist (Swe/Cantina Tollo)
2000: Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex/Panaria)
2001: Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita/Mapei)
2002: Hernan Dario Munoz (Col/Colombia-Selle Italia)
2003: Hernan Dario Munoz (Col/Colombia-Selle Italia)
2004: Ruber Marin (Col/Colombia-Selle Italia)
2005: Ryan Cox (RSA/Barloworld)
2006: José Serpa (Col/Selle Italia-Diquigiovanni)
2007: José Serpa (Col/Diquigiovanni)
2009: José Serpa (Col/Diquigiovanni)
2010: José Rujano (Ven/ ISD Neri)
2011: Jonathan Monsalve (Ven/ Androni Giocattoli)
2012: José Serpa (Col/ Androni Giocattoli)

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS TAKE UP UNDERDOG ROLE

KUALA LUMPUR, WEDNESDAY, 2 JANUARY 2013 - Legendary cycling team manager Gianni Savio insisted that his Androni-Venezuela team will not come for tourism in Malaysia despite the loss of the past three overall winners of Le Tour de Langkawi. José Serpa, José Rujano and Jonathan Monsalve have moved to different teams, the latter being set to return to Malaysia with Vini Fantini, but the Italian squad has more in store.

“We’ll invent something new”, promised Savio who is well aware of his team not featuring any hot favourite for the overall classification this time around against the likes of Europcar’s Pierre Rolland and Cameron Meyer from Orica-GreenEdge.

“Firstly, we’ll give a chance to two young Italian neo pros: Diego Rosa, a pure climber who comes from mountain biking and won the queen stage of the Giro Bio last year, and Patrick Facchini who collected eight wins and was awarded best Italian Elite rider at the Tuttobici Oscar. Usually racing as support riders, Carlos Ochoa and Jackson Rodriguez will have more freedom this time and we’ll have a third Venezuelan with time trial national champion Tomas Gil. Our sixth man will be Omar Bertazzo for the sprints.”

“We won’t be coming with the goal of winning the overall individual title as we did these past few years with Serpa, Rujano and Monsalve”, Savio added, “but we’ll be looking at creating some surprises. Even with unknown riders, we should be able to leave our mark on the event. As always, we’ll do our best to honour the race and we’ll try to win the teams’ classification once again.”

In twelve participation to LTdL since their debuts in 2000 with a stage win by Australia’s Jamie Drew, Savio’s team has won the overall classification on six occasions with Hernan Dario Munoz (2002), Freddy Gonzalez (2004), Ruslan Ivanov (2008), José Serpa (2009), Jonathan Monsalve (2011) and José Serpa again (2012). They also won the teams’ classification five times (2003, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012).

“Androni’s team spirit is something we always enjoy to witness”, said Le Tour de Langkawi chief operating officer Emir Abdul Jalal.

“We might see it even more this year as they’ll face a harder challenge, especially in Genting Highlands where fans have been used to see them winning no less than eight times in the past ten years! Gianni Savio is also one of the strongest supporters of our event and our country in the world of cycling, so he’s welcome back to Malaysia any time. It’ll be interesting to watch his riders in the underdog role this year.” He added

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1427.6 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
The 18th edition of the race is marked not only by its return to its legendary birthplace, but also a challenging route which features two tough climbs up Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.

TEAM ANDRONI-VENEZUELA FOR LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI :
Tomas Aurelio GIL MARTINEZ (VEN), Carlos José OCHOA (VEN), Jackson RODRIGUEZ (VEN), Omar BERTAZZO (ITA), Patrick FACCHINI (ITA) and Diego ROSA (ITA)