YOUNG COQUARD STORMS TANAH MERAH

The tight finish

Brian shows his Olympic rings tattoo

On the podium in Tanah Merah, 1st Brian Coquard, 2nd Andrew Fenn, 3rd Francesco Chicchi

Pocket rocket Brian Coquard poses with his trophies

The leaders

TANAH MERAH, Thursday 28 February 2013 - Earlier failures despite coming close to winning a stage were put to rest by Team Europcar's Bryan Coquard won a bunch sprint to bag victory in Stage 8 of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from Kuala Terengganu to Tanah Merah today. 

Coquard, 20, beat Omega Pharma-Quickstep's Andrew Fenn and Stage 4 winner Francesco Chicchi to continue his hot streak with Team Europcar in his debut season as a professional after winning two stages in the Etoile de Besseges before coming to LTdL.

In the flat stage which was expected to finish in a bunch sprint, Coquard, who finished second in Stage 1 in Kulim and fourth in Kuala Kangsar (Stage 2), used the right strategy to sprint from the right and complete the stage in 3 hours 36 minutes and 47 seconds.

Born in Saint Nazaire, France, Coquard who won the silver medal in the omnium track event at the Olympic Games in London 2012, also overcame the disappointment of finishing eighth in Stage 7 in Dungun after a mistake saw him finish 8th.

"Yesterday I wasn't able to sprint well at the final moment but today I worked hard and was lucky to win this stage. My performance is at a good level and I was ready to take another chance today," said Coquard.

"In the final kilometre I was in a good position, in 10th or 11th and I took the chance in the final 200 metres to start my sprint from the right and overtake the riders at the front," saiod Coquard.

"I'm happy to win here because the field here is so strong. This victory is also important for the beginning of my career. I have achieved my target today and I can ride in the final two stages without the pressure of needing to register a victory."

Earlier, the peloton was driven at a very high pace before two riders - Low Ji Wen (OCBC Singapore) and Liu Jianpeng (Hengxiang) managed an escape after 25km and distanced themselves with a gap of almost 12 minutes before the peloton led by Astana, Vini Fantini and Team Nippo-De Rosa began to chase them down.

The yellow jersey holder Julian Arredondo of Team Nippo-De Rosa also retained his overall lead, along with Wang Meiyin of Hengxiang who leads the mountains classification and Asian riders' classification and Andrea Guardini of Astana, who leads the points classification.

South African team MTN Qhubeka also look set to hold on to their overall teams classification lead with two flat stages remaining.

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).

GUARDINI ENDS WAIT FOR VICTORY IN DUNGUN

The peloton entering the Dungun, district of Terengganu

Guardini finally gets his win in Dungun, ahead of Chicchi (Vini Fantini) and Kroupis (OGE)

Andrea hounded by the press

the stage winners

The jersey leaders

Astana Team Manager Jaan Kirsipuu celebrates with Andrea

DUNGUN, Wednesday 27 February 2013 - Star sprinter Andrea Guardini finally ended the wait for his first win for his new team Astana in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2013 when he won a bunch sprint to bag Stage 7 from Kuantan to Dungun today.

This win brought Guardini's record of wins in LTdL to 12 and was also Astana's first victory of the year. It came after the disappointment of losing out in the final sprint to Theo Bos (Blanco Pro Cycling) and Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) in stages before this.

Wearing the sprints classification blue jersey which he took in Stage 4, the victory in Dungun is also the 22nd in 24-year old Guardini's career and also improved his chances of a repeat points classification victory.

Guardini beat Stage 4 winner Francesco Chicchi of his former team Vini Fantini-Selle Italia, which was known as Farnese Vini when he recorded his first 11 LTdL victories in 2011 and last year. Orica-GreenEdge's Aidis Kroupis finished third.  

"IT is difficult if I don't win something early in the season. But this year I had to familiarise myself with a new team and new teammates at Astana. I had entered the Tour Down Under and Tour of Qatar without the condition to challenge for wins, but here it was perfect," said Guardini.

"I'm relieved. The challenge is not that easy with so many strong sprinters here. But today, my teammates Assan Bazayev and Ruslan Tleubayev worked hard and rode very fast to find the space and position for me.

"In the final 500 metres, Tleubayev put me on the wheel of Aidis Kroupis and Allan Davis and I made a sprint from the left to overtake them.

"I also knew that Anuar Manan (Synergy-Baku Cycling Project) was getting closer to me in the points classification after he collected points at the intermediate sprints but I focused on the stage win only.

"I'm very happy with the victory and it goes well with the blue jersey," said Guardini, who captured the attention of the world when he won Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia last year.

The yellow jersey remained with Team Nippo-De Rosa's Julian Arredondo (25 hours 55 minutes 05 seconds), who's team worked hard to prevent any major threat to his lead, particularly Orica-GreenEdge's Pieter Weening, who is one minute and 15 seconds adrift in the general classification.

Henxiang Cycling Team's Wang Meiyin remained the leader of the mountains classification wit 48 points, three more than Arredondo, who did not try to attack at the two king of the mountains hot spots at Kijal and Bukit Anak Dara today. Meiyin also remained the leader of the Asian riders' classification.

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).

LEEZER GIVES BLANCO THIRD WIN IN LTDL DEBUT

GC leader Julian Arredondo of Team Nippo - de Rosa

Heavy downpour all along the route

Golas (OPQS) crosses the finishline

On the podium - 1st Leezer (Blanco), 2nd Jung (KSPO), 3rd Golas (OPQS)

Leezer celebrates

Plenty of attacks today

KUANTAN, Tuesday 26 February 2013 - A solo push inside the final five kilometres from a group of 16 initial breakaway riders gave Blanco Pro Cycling's Thomas Leezer a deserved victory in Stage 6, Le Tour de Langkawi 2013's longest stage from Mentakab to Kuantan today.

Leezer, 27, who hails from The Hague in the Netherlands and joined the Blanco team previously known as Rabobank in 2008, broke away from the lead group to cross the finish line alone in 4 hours 33 minutes and 42 seconds.

He finished 27 seconds ahead of South Korea's Jung Ji Min of KSPO and 35 seconds ahead of Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) while another breakaway member Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli) barely managed to stay ahead of a surging peloton to win the bunch sprint for fourth place ahead of Astana's Andrea Guardini, the holder of the blue jersey for the points classification lead.

The result of the day did not affect the overall lead of Team Nippo-De Rosa's Julian David Arredondo of Colombia, while Hengxiang's Wang Meiyin's Asian riders' classification lead also remained intact.

Meiyin however regained the Genting red jersey as the leader of the mountains classification which he lost to Arredondo by a point on Monday;s Genting Highlands stage, after he managed to win the category 4 mountains hot spot in Sungai Piul.

Leezer's victory meant the Blanco team made it three victories so far in their LTdL debut, although the day started with news that their top sprinter Theo Bos had pulled out of the race after struggling with flu te past two days.

IT was the Blanco team's 10th victory this season and a sweet one for Leezer who had onbly recently returned to competetive cycling after recovering from a broken shoulder and vertibrae suffered following a crash during a bunch sprint in a race in Belgium last year.

"I think I must have tried 30 or 40 times to breakaway during this stage and thanfully the last one was a good one. It was a different kind of experience, but a happy one.

 "I'm very happy with this win, especially for our team. We have been racing really well as we all need to prove ourselves as we lost our main sponsor (Rabobank) last year, so this drives the team forward," said Leezer.

"I'm also relieved with this win. Actually I thought I was lucky to be here to start this race, but now I've shown that I can also be competitive."

Today's stage, of which the final 50 kilometres were run under heavy torrential rain, saw multiple breakaaway attempts right from the beginning.

Malaysia's Anuar Manan of the Synergy-Baku Cycling Project moved up to second in the points classification behind Guardini after taking first place in the first intermediate sprint of the day then finishing 10th.

"Today I tried to get points in intermediate sprint zones to add to my tally even though it was really hard as the peloton was really fast. After this all the mountains are gone, it is all flat. So I know this is when I have to start making it count and deliver a stage win," said Anuar.

Stage 7 tomorrow moves into Terengganu with a 146.5 kilometre route from Kuantan to Dungun, where the sprinters are expected to take centrestage.

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).

ARREDONDO TOPS GENTING, SWEEPS YELLOW AND RED JERSEYS

GENTING HIGHLANDS, Monday 25 February 2013 - Team Nippo-De Rosa's Julian Arredondo won Stage 5 of Le Tour de Langkawi 2013 to claim the yellow jersey as the new overall leader of the race at the end of the Tour's toughest stage from the Proton Centre of Excellence in Subang Jaya  to Genting Highlands today.

The 25-year old from Colombia was in second place overall prior to the 110.3 kilometre stage which he completed in 3 hours 11 minutes and 41 seconbds, 26 seconds ahead of Orica-GreenEdge's Pieter Weening in second place and 44 in front of RTS Racing's Victor Nino.

The previous yellow jersey holder Wang Meiyin (Hengxiang Cycling Team), who had a 2 minutes and 43 seconds advantage over Arredondo, only managed to finish 20th and dropped to fifth overall.

Arrendondo who had 20 points in the mountains classification at the start of the stage, added 25 points to his tally to also grab the king of the mountains red jersey from Meiyin.

However, Meiyin still remained in the lead of the Asian riders' classification, thanks to his powerful performance in winning the Cameron Highlands stage on Saturday.

The blue jersey of the points classification leader remained with Astana's Andrea Guardini for another day after the Italian took charge of it when he finished second to Francesco Chicchi in a bunch sprint that ended Stage 4 yesterday.

Right after the official start, Orica-GreenEdge's Travis Meyer made an early breakaway attempt riding solo and opened up a nine minute gap ahead of the peloton and took the mountains hot spot in Bukit Cerakah and three intermediate sprints at Coalfields, PAya Jaras and Gombak, before being caught by the peloton when the climbing began at Genti8ng Sempah.

As expected the climbers waited for the Genting stage before making their big moves and Arredondo, accompanied by his teammate Fortunato Baliani led the front group of 22 riders when they began the final part of the climb at Gohtong Jaya, 10km from the finish.

"I was just watching how the yellow jersey (Meiyin) was behaving today before making my move. I had my teammate Baliani with me and we jumped to attack with 10km to go when we saw that Meiyin had been dropped," said Arredondo.

"This is my biggest win to date. I had won some races as an amateur in Italy and I only turned professional with Team Nippo last year, when I won the Japan Cup.

"Now I have a comfortable lead at the front and I hope my teammates will be able to control the race in the remaining stages."

Meanwhile, Meiyin, who did not get much help from his teammates in the climb, admitted that he was disdappointed in losing the yellow jersey after winning the Cameron Highlands stage.

"I must admit that there are other stronger climbers here but I am satisfied with giving my best so far," said Meiyin.

Guardini, who finished 101st, can't wait to get back to the flat stages where he is targeting his first win in this year's race to add to his record 11 wins achieved in the past two editions.

"Tomorrow is the longest stage and there might be some breakaway attempts, but the final four stages are flat and we can expects some bunch sprints.

"I hope to retain my points classification jersey and at least one stage by the end of the race."

Stage 6 tomorrow is the longest stage of this year's race covering 217.8km from Mentakab to Kuantan with three intermediate sprints in Jerantut, Bandar Jengka and Maran and three mountains hot spots in Sungai Piul, Kota Gelanggi and Jengka.

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).

CHICCHI CONQUERS BUNCH SPRINT IN KAPAR

The start at Tapah

Riders going for break

Andrea Guardini wears the Blue jersey

Wong Meiyin still in Yellow

Chicchi takes the stage!

KAPAR, Sunday 24 February 2013 - After settling for two eighth place finishes earlier Vini Fantini-Selle Italia's Francesco Chicchi showed what he was capable of when he surged ahead in a bunch sprint to win Stage 4 of Le Tour de Langkawi 2013 here today.

Camaiore, Italy-born Chicchi, 33, managed to pip Astana's Andrea Guardini and Orica-GreenEdge's Aidis Kroupis in the bunch sprint to cross the finish line in 3 hours 44 minutes and 22 seconds.

This was the first win for Chicchi with his new team Vini Fantini, after moving there from Omega Pharma-Quickstep.

However, Guardini, the LTdL record stage winner with 11 wins to date, gathered 14 points of the day to bring his points classification total to 41 and wrested the Proton blue jersey from Hengxiang's Wang Meiyin.

Meiyin, who created history on the Cameron Highlands stage on Day 3 by sweeping all four leaders' jerseys on offer, still remained as the leader of the overall general classification, the mountains and Asian riders' classification.

"After three hard days, including helping my team's climber Jonathan Monsalve in the Cameron Highlands stage, today I made a decision to try and win this stage," said Chicchi.

"I was behind Guardini when we entered the last 200 metres and managed to overtake him in the final stages. This is my first win in Le Tour de Langkawi and I'm very happy with it because this is a big race," added Chicchi.

"I was amazed to see so many people all along the route, supporting this cycling race and it gave me a lot of motivation to win." Chicchi was the under-23 world road champion in 2002. 

In the 168 kilometre stage that began in Tapah, Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar), Taiji Nishitani (Aisan) and Puchong Sai-udomsin (OCBC Singapore) made an early breakaway that saw them sweep the top three places in all three intermediate sprints at Teluk Intan, Sungai Besar and Kuala Selangor before being caught by the peloton with 3km to go.

Guardini admitted he was happy with gaining the blue jersey but will not be satisfied until he registers a victory in the race this time around with his new team Astana.

"My priority is still to wina stage but I realise the competition this time is very tough with so many good sprinters in the picture. But we still have some opportunities with many flat stages coming after Genting Highlands," said Guardini.

Stage 5 from Proton Shah Alam to Genting Highlands tomorrow will cover a 108km route that is the toughest stage in LTdL which will see the main contenders for the yellow jersey come forward.

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).

MEIYIN DOMINATES CAMERON HIGHLANDS STAGE

CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Saturday 23 February 2013 - Hengxiang Cycling Team's Wang Meiyin created his own piece of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) history when he won Stage 3 from Sungai Siput to Cameron Highlands and swept all four leaders' jerseys.

The 25-year old cyclist drew on all his strength to win the 140.7 kilometre stage by riding the final 40 kilometres solo after he dropped four other breakaway partners who had conspired to escape about 10 kilometres into the stage.

Meiyin finished in 3 hours 50 minutes and 01 seconds, 2 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of second placed Julian David Arredondo of Team Nippo and Nathan Haas of Garmin-Sharp.

After leading the Asian riders' classification from the first stage on Thursday, Meiyin yesterday finished by adding the yellow jersey as the overall leader, the blue jersey as the points classification leader andf the red jersey as the mountains classification leader to his collection.

He now leads double stage winner Theo Bos by six points after collecting 36 points in total and has a comfortable lead in the mountains classification with 44 points, with second placed Arredondo only with 20 points. His lead in the Asian riders' classification is now extended to 3 minutes and 38 seconds over second placed Alexandr Dyachenko of Astana.

"This is the greatest day of my life. It is also my biggest success so far," said Meiyin.

"I was only thinking of joining the breakaway, but I didn't expect to win like this. It was not part of our team's plans. The plan was for two other teammates to get in the breakaway, but they didn't manage to do so.

"So I tried to go and succeeded. When we reached the foot of the climb, I managed to drop the other four riders and continue with my pace.

"Maybe the riders in the peloton also made a mistake and didn't try to catch me earlier because they don't know me or they thought they could catch me. So I was lucky."

"But I must admit that this was not an easy climb."

Meiyin added that he will try to defend the lead when the race reaches its most difficult stage, the climb up to Genting Highlands on Monday for Stage Five.

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).

TWO IN A ROW AS BOS LOOKS UNSTOPPABLE

Theo Bos (Blanco) in 1st place, Andrea Guardini (Astana) in 2nd, and Aidis Kroupis (Orica-GreenEdge) 3rd.

Theo Bos holds on to Yellow

The dramatic finish in Kuala Kangsar

Theo Bos holds on to Yellow and Blue jersey, Seo Joon Yong (KSPO) in Red, while Wang Meiyin (HengXiang) in Best Asian White jersey.

KUALA KANGSAR, Friday, 22 February 2013 - Blanco Pro Cycling's Theo Bos continued his dominant form while disappointing his rivals after winning Stage 2 of Le Tour de Langkawi from Serdang, Kedah to Kuala Kangsar today.

Yet again, Bos' closest rival and LTdL stage win record holder Andrea Guardini of the Astana team was left behind in a bunch sprint to the finish line of the short but tough 117.8 kilometre stage.

Bos crossed the line in 2 hours 54 minutes and 48 seconds, leaving Guardini in second spot and Team Orica-GreenEdge's Aidis Kroupis in third. Guardini had slight problems with his pedals in the final metres of the sprint.

With another comfortable victory, Bos retained the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the race with a 10 seconds advantage over Guardini. Bos also holds the blue jersey as the points classification leader, three points clear of Guardini. 

"I am happyb to have continued with this winning rhythm, although today was a little bit more difficult because I had to start my sprint quite early. My teammate Greame Brown had opened it up too early.

"At first I saw the Garmin rider (Steele Von Hoff) behind me, then suddenly Guardini was there. But I also saw that he had some problems with his pedal, so I was a bit lucky today," said Bos, 30, who managed seven victories the whole of last year, but has already got three in his first two races this year after also winning Stage 2 in the Tour of the Algarve last week.

However, he admitted that it would be a difficult task to maintain the yellow jersey in the third stage tomorrow which ends with a tough climb up Cameron Highlands, but the Dutch rider aid he aims to add to his collection of victories in the flat stages after that.

"So far I'm satisfied with my performance and I hope to be consistent so that I get into some Grand Tour races and win a stage there. That is the ambition of every rider," said the winner of the sprint silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Meanwhile the king of the mountains jersey switched hands to Seo Joon Yong of the KSPO team after the South Korean topped the summit of the category two climb at Bukit Sumpitan yesterday to collect 10 points.

China's Wang Meiyin of the Hengxiang team lost the red jersey to Seo, but retained the Asian riders' white jersey.

In today's stage, a group of five riders - Seo, Li Fuyu (Hengxiang), Anuar Manan (Synergy-Baku), Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Cycling) and Goh Choon Huat (OCBC Singapore) made an early breakaway right after the official start in Serdang.

Anuar managed to win the first two intermediate sprints in Selama and Lenggong to keep his chances of landing the points classification alive after he collected 10 points.

Seo took the mountains classification lead after he managed to top Bukit Sumpitan while Shahrul saw his hopes of landing the jersey diminish when he crashed about 70 metres from the summit.

The breakaway riders were caught by the peloton which was left three minutes behind when  Shahrul won the third intermediate sprint in Kati, 17 kilometres from the finish in Kuala Kangsar.

"I am not a climber, but I knew I had a chance to do something if I made an early breakaway. I was lucky to collect the points at summit of the climb, because the was a crash between Fuyu and Shahrul," said Seo.

Stage 3 tomorrow from Sungai Siput to Cameron Highlands covers 145.4km and will see the challengers coming from among the climbers as it involves a long and hard climb to the summit of the highlands resort town.

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).

THEO SHOWS WHO'S BOS WITH EASY VICTORY

The break

Flag off by Raja Muda Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail

Theo takes the win!

KULIM, Thursday - Blanco Pro Cycling Team's Theo Bos swept the opening victory in the 18th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today almost unchallenged in the bunch sprint finish.

That victory, 29-year old Bos' second in two weeks, gave him both the Visit Terengganu Year 2013 yellow jersey as the overall leader and the Proton blue jersey as the leader of the points classification.

Backed by a strong team that included the former LTdL record stage winner Greame Brown, Bos easily saw off the challenge of young French sprinter Bryan Coquard of Team Europcar and Italy's Andrea Guardini of the Astana Pro Team, the current LTdL stage win record holder at the end of the 162.7 kilometre stage that ended in 4 hours and 17 seconds.

China's Wang Meiyin of the Hengxiang Cycling Team also grabbed some atention when his early effort in a breakway from kilometre zero with Japan's Shinichi Fukushima of Team Nippo and Ho Junrong of OCBC Singapore saw him win all three intermediate sprints and the category 4 KOM at Bukit Selambau to take the Malaysia Airlines white Asian riders' jersey as well as the Genting red jersey as the mountains classification leader.     

The end result of the stage confirmed pre-race speculations as Bos, winner of Stage Two in the Tour of Algarve in Portugal last week, produced an explosive sprint to finish off the opposition after the peloton had caught up with the three breakway riders 20 kilometres from the finish.

"It was quite easy becausde my teammates controlled the tempo at the front which made it difficult for the other teams to find a good position. My teammate Brown has a lot of experience here, so that also helped me," said Bos.

"But I realise that the race after this will not always be easy. With our team in good condition, I hope to register more victories in the coming stages."

Meiyin, who saw his hopes of a surprise victory diminish when the peloton caught up after  they passed Kuala Ketil, ssaid he had entered the race hoping to make an impact.

"I wanted to show my ability in this race and try to win something," said Meiyin, who has raced in Malaysia with the Marco Polo team prior to this.

"I realised that this is a race with a very high level and it requires a lot more for me to win. But I am still eager to prove something and with the performance in the stage, I'm happy that I have come up with good form after the winter in China," said Meiyin.

Synergy-Baku Cycling Project's Anuar Manan emerged as the best Malaysian rider on the day by finishing seventh in the stage.

"When Blanco were at the front, there was a split in the front of the peloton and I was left behind, so my lead-out man Rico Rogers had to work extra hard to pull me back to the front. After that I tried to match the guys at the front, but they were just too fast," said Anuar.

The second stage of LTdL covers 117km from Serdang to Kuala Kangsar today, where the peloton has toalso negotiate a tough category 2 climb up Bukit Sumpitan.

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).