KATUSHA AND TINKO­­­FF-SAXO TO MAKE THEIR DEBUT AT LTDL

BUKITJALIL, 4th December 2013 - 22 teams are expected to line up at the 19^th edition of LeTour de Langkawi scheduled to kick off on Malaysia’s Paradisiacal island onFebruary 27. The ten-day long UCI 2.HC event is set to have its mostprestigious start list ever as five Pro Teams have already signed up.

“Wehave two more spots available for Pro Teams as per now”, LTdL chief operatingofficer Emir Abdul Jalal revealed. “We’re trying hard to get two more of theworld’s best teams. Compared to last year, we’ve lost the participation ofGarmin-Sharp and Omega Pharma-Quick Step. They’ve told us they were happy withtheir experience and they like our race very much but this time around, itcould simply not fit into their schedule. They’ll be welcome back next year.However, they’ve been replaced by two of the biggest teams in the world:Katusha from Russia and Tinkoff-Saxo, which is the team of Alberto Contadoreven though it doesn’t mean that he will come to Malaysia.”

Rostersare yet to be finalized but Katusha will be directed in Malaysia by their teammanager Viatcheslav Ekimov, a former Olympic champion and a true legend ofcycling just like Alexandre Vinokourov who rode Le Tour de Langkawi in his lastseason in 2012 and keeps sending his team Astana to Malaysia now that he’s themanager.

Forboth Katusha and Tinkoff-Saxo, it will be an unprecedented participation toLTdL with their current organization but the first version of a team sponsoredby Russian magnate Oleg Tinkov goes as far back as 2007. “Le Tour de Langkawiwas the first race of Tinkoff Credit System as a Pro Continental team thatyear”, Emir remembered.

“Theirfirst ever pro victory was stage 9 from Putrajaya to Seremban with PavelBrutt.” The first Tinkoff team became Katusha as Russia’s Global CyclingProject in 2009 while Tinkoff became a co-sponsor of the Saxo Bank team in2012. This week, he announced to have purchased 100% of the shares of the teampreviously owned by Bjarne Riis who remains in the role of team manager.

“Beingtrusted by these very important people in cycling show the credibility of ourevent worldwide”, Emir added as he also praised Orica-GreenEdge, Astana andBelkin for entering LTdL once again.

Up todate, four Pro Continental teams have also signed up: MTN-Qhubeka,Unitedhealthcare, Androni Giocattoli and first timers Team Colombia whose enrolmentform features Fabio Duarte. The former U23 world champion was second toVincenzo Nibali in last year’s queen stage of the Giro d’Italia.

“Wecould get more European teams as many of them are willing to come to Malaysia”,Emir continued, “but we also feel that it is our duty as Asian organizers togive the riders of our continent a chance to perform at the highest level.”

Continentalteams to line up will be Terengganu TSG from Malaysia, KSPO from Korea, AisanRacing from Japan, Giant-Champion System (formerly known as Max Success) fromChina, CCN Gios from Brunei, OCBC Singapore, Synergy Baku from Azerbaijan,Tabriz Petrochemical from Iran as well as national teams from Malaysia,Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Organisedby the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) inassociation with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). The 19thedition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from February 27 to March 8, 2014 is setto cover a total distance of 1,506.5km over 10 stages, the UCI 2.HC (horscategory) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI AsiaTour calendar.

CONFIRMED TEAMS FOR LTdL 

PRO TOUR
1. BELKIN-PRO CYCLING TEAM (BEL) – NED
2. ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) – KAZ
3. ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) – AUS
4. KATUSHA (KAT) – RUS
5. TEAM SAXO TINKOFF (TST) - DEN
PROFESSIONAL CONTINENTAL
1. COLOMBIA (COL) – COL
2. ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI - VENEZUELA (AND) – ITA
3. MTN - QHUBEKA (MTN) – RSA
4. UNITEDHEALTHCARE PRO CYCLING TEAM (UHC) – USA
CONTINENTAL
1. TERENGGANU CYCLING TEAM (TSG) – MAS
2. AISAN RACING TEAM (AIS) - JPN
3. OCBC SINGAPORE CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM (TSI) - SIN
4. TABRIZ PETROCHEMICAL TEAM (TPT) – IRI
5. SYNERGY BAKU CYCLING PROJECT (BCP) – AZE
6. KSPO (KSP) – KOR
7. CCN GIOS CYCLING TEAM (CCN) – BRU
8. GIANT-CHAMPION SYSTEM PRO CYCLING (MSS) - CHN
NATIONAL
1. MALAYSIA
2. INDONESIA

3. HONG KONG

MALAYSIA AIRLINES BEST ASIAN RIDER JERSEY TO ATTRACT SERIOUS ATTENTION AGAIN

KELANA JAYA, Wednesday, 27th November 2013 - The white jersey that highlights the best Asian rider ofLe Tour de Langkawi will once again be supported by Malaysia Airlines for the19^th edition from February 27 to March 8. This classification is amajor target for the regional cyclists as well as it raises outsiders’awareness of the progress of Asian cycling.

In a sponsorship and jersey handover ceremony held at the MalaysiaAirlines Academy in Kelana Jaya, Malaysia Airlines’ Regional Senior VicePresident, Malaysia Muzammil Mohamad said, “It is a privilege for MalaysiaAirlines to be associated with the Le Tour de Langkawi once again. As oneworld’sSoutheast Asia hub airline, it makes good business sense to be a sponsor forthe Asian Champion jersey, the overall leading rider among Asian participantsat the tour.”

“Our association with reputable sporting events such as LTdL iscertain to promote Malaysia as an international destination for sports,business and tourism. MAS finds that sports tourism is a key enabler inproviding that support for growing yields where our foreign visitors are keento spend on quality products and services during their stay in Malaysia.”Muzammil continued.

He added, “Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines is currently offeringattractive domestic fares through our Year-End Specials (YES) for immediatetravel until 30 June 2014. We urge race enthusiasts to book now and secure thebest value for their travel should they wish to follow the race in February2014. These deals are made available on all Malaysia Airlines distributionchannels mainly www.malaysiaairlines.com, Malaysia Airlines’ Call Centre 1 300 88 3000, Malaysia Airlinesticket offices and appointed agents throughout Malaysia”.

Also present in the sponsorship ceremony were Chairman of the LTdLOrganising Committee Dato’ Seri Zolkples Embong, Malaysia Airlines’ Head ofStrategic Communications Dato’ Najmuddin Abdullah and Deputy Chairman of theLTdL Organising Committee Dato’ Hj. Ab Jalil Abdullah.

“Officials at the international cycling union (UCI) keep saying thatcycling is growing faster in Asia than anywhere else in the world”, noted LTdLchief operating officer Emir Abdul Jalal.

“We’re proud to be part of that movement. With all the participationsrequests we get from Europe, America and Oceania, we could ignore Asian teamsbut that’s out of question.” Emir added.

Le Tour de Langkawi is the highest ranked stage race on the Asia Tourwith a UCI 2.HC status like Chinese events Tour of Qinghai Lake and Tour ofHainan. Every year, approximately half of the starting teams hail from Asia,usually Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Iran, Kazakhstanand, of course, Malaysia.

The best Asian rider competition has been created two years after theinception of Le Tour de Langkawi in 1996. The individual classification hasbeen won successively by riders from Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Iran, Korea,Kazakhstan and more recently China as Wang Meiyin made history for his countryin 2013.

The 25 year old from Qufu in the Shandong province already wore theMAS white jersey of best Asian rider when he struck the world by winning soloin the Cameron Highlands on stage 3. In the inaugural stage, he claimed allthree intermediate sprints and collected enough time bonus on a flat terrain toposition himself in the top three overall prior to the mountain stages.

Atop Genting Highlands, he limited his loss to maintain a tight fiveseconds advantage over second best Asian rider Amir Kolahdozhagh from Tabriz.At the end of the ten-day long event, he finished fifth overall and king of themountains as well.

“Wang’s epic ride made the 2013 Le Tour de Langkawi a very interestingone”, Emir remembered. “It’s been the best ever performance by a Chinesecyclist worldwide so far.  Therefore, the impact in international mediahas been terrific for LTdL and Malaysia.

“For now, we don’t know which rider can take over from Wang as theteams’ invitation process is still ongoing and the teams are yet to determinetheir line-ups but I’m sure that once again, Asian riders will be well preparedto challenge to World Tour riders. Malaysian riders are also improving, so Iwouldn’t be surprised to see one of them wearing the MAS best Asian rider whitejersey.”

Previous winners of the best Asian ridercompetition at LTdL :

1998:     Tonton Susanto (INA)

1999:     Hideto Yukinari (JAP)

2000:     Wang Kam Po (HKG)

2001:     Wang Kam Po (HKG)

2002:     Tonton Susanto (INA)

2003:     Tomoya Kano (JAP)

2004:     Ghader Mizbani (IRA)

2005:     Koji Fukushima (JAP)

2006:     Hossein Askari (IRA)

2007:     Ghader Mizbani (IRA)

2008:     Shinichi Fukushima (JAP)

2009:     Tonton Susanto (INA)

2010:     Gong Hyo Suk (KOR)

2011:     Rahim Emami (IRA)

2012:     Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ)

2013:     Wang Meiyin (CHN)

THE HEAT IS BACK!

IF 2013 WAS GOOD, LTdL 2014 PROMISES TO BE EVEN BETTER

PUTRAJAYA, 12 November 2013 - Cast into epic battles from the start, another world-classpeloton is expected for the 19th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) fromFebruary 27 to March 8, 2014, and will be kept on their toes from start tofinish.

Set to cover a total distance of 1,506.5km over 10 stages, theUCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events onthe UCI Asia Tour calendar, will also bring viewers through a myriad ofbreathtaking sceneries on offer in Peninsula Malaysia.

Minister of Youth and Sports YB Khairy Jamaluddin announced today that therace would be more nail biting compared to previous years.

"Not only that, we are expecting exciting competitionwith all leaders' jerseys possibly changing hands everyday. It will be an openrace until the very end, which will definitely keep the fans excited,"said Khairy.

The race starts in it's spiritual home in Langkawi with atricky 101.1km route dotted throughout the stage. The peloton won't have iteasy with five category 4 climbs throughout the stage, beginning with an ascentup Bukit Malut, just five kilometres from the start in Porto Malai.

That will be followed by a stage that begins at a new startvenue, in Amanjaya, Sungai Petani, Kedah with the second stage covering 132.5kmto the serene finish venue at the Taiping Lake Gardens.

In stage 3, the race will be finishing at Dataran Merdeka,which was previously the iconic last stage for previous editions of LTdL,before Terengganu came in as venue sponsor, this will give fans in Kuala Lumpura nostalgic feeling.

Though the race features its queen stage, the climb to thesummit of Genting Highlands on Stage 4, Khairy said the winner of the red kingof the mountains jersey may not necessarily emerge the victor in the mountainsclassification with many more points on offer in the remaining six stages.

Significantly, the holder of the yellow jersey after theGenting Highlands stage will be tested in the remaining six stages, highlightedby Stage 7, a lengthy 230.1km coastal route from Kota Tinggi to Pekan, which isthe second longest stage in LTdL history.

In fact the lengthy Stages 6, 7, 8 and 9 will see the pelotoncover an average distance of 200km per day, with levels of fatigue playing amajor role in opening up the race.

"With 22 teams on the startlist, for the sprinters' teamsthe favourites will also find it hard to win every flat stage, which might alsonot necessarily finish in bunch sprints," said Khairy.

LTdL 2014, which carries the tagline "The Heat isBack", is the sequel to last year’s ‘The Heat is on” which have help boostthe impact of LTdL’s brand to the worldwide media. LTdL has been dubbed as thehottest annual race in Asia, run under immense tropical heat, with passionatecycling fans lined-up along the route, which seldom is part of the challenge inraces across the continent.

“LTdL is not only known as racing under the intense heat, thehardest climb up to Genting Highlands. It is also known that the race receivesthe warmest welcome and support from all Malaysians. For Asian riders, LTdL isa platform to showcase their talents against the best in the world.”

"Theo Bos, Francesco Chicchi, Brian Coquard, PierreRolland and Andrea Guardini provided a healthy impact for the race last year. Theirsuperstar status raised the interest of the international media about the raceand last year we received increased coverage because of that,”

“For the 2014 edition I am pleased to announce that Pro TeamSaxo-Tinkoff have confirmed their participation and I was told that theorganizers are still in discussion with 2 more Pro Teams to add to the line-up."said Khairy.

“In 2013, LTdL reached a historical milestone with the latestcollaboration with sports channel Eurosports. 10 hour Highlights of the racewere broadcasted in Eurosport 1, Eurosports 2 and Eurosports Asia Pacific tomore than 160 countries and along Internet TV site Cycling TV that has over amillion subscribers. Looking at the statistics, this exposure will definitelyhelp the promotion of Visit Malaysia 2014,”

YB Khairy also highlighted the fact that the UCI had also, fora fourth consecutive year, acknowledged the level of organisation by accordingthe race an "excellent level of organisation" certificate.

In confirming that via an officialletter, UCI expertise coordinator (road events) Josephine Clausen also noted thatthis was due to the high levels of safety during the event, along with goodinformation provided via briefings of press motorcycle pilots and technicalguides.

The LTdL received very positive remarksfor safety throughout the race especially with the presence of 78 motorcycleescorts and 30 marshals on motorbikes. The organisers' reaction to flooding,with an alternative route with its profile and detailed map establishedovernight, also received high remarks from the UCI.

Apart from the organisation, the 18thedition also attracted an unprecedented participation of five UCI Pro Teamswith the Astana, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, Garmin-Sharp, Blanco Pro Cycling andOrica-GreenEdge teams competing in the race. The 2014 edition, can be expectedto see an even stronger participation from the top teams.

Alsopresent in the launching were Ministry of Youth and Sports Deputy Minister YBDatuk Saravanan Murugan, Secretary General Datuk Jamil Bin Salleh, NationalSports Council Director General Dato' Seri Zolkples Embong, Malaysian NationalCycling Federation president Tuan Haji Abu Samah Abdul Wahab, state officialsand tour sponsors.

Le Tour de Langkawi 2014 RACE ROUTE

Stage 1 - Thursday 27^th February2014 : Langkawi (101.1km)

Stage 2 - Friday 28^th February2014 : Sungai Petani - Taiping (132.5km)

Stage 3 - Saturday 1^st March 2014: Kampar - Kuala Lumpur (166.5km)

Stage 4 - Sunday 2^nd March 2014 : MASSubang - Genting Highlands (110.9km)

Stage 5 - Monday 3^rd March 2014 : Karak- Rembau (139.3km)

Stage 6 - Tuesday 4^th March 2014 :Melaka - Pontian Kechil (199.1km)

Stage 7 - Wednesday 5^th March 2014: Kota Tinggi - Pekan (230.1km)

Stage 8 - Thursday 6^th March 2014: Kuantan - Marang (202.6km)

Stage 9 - Friday 7^th March 2014 : BandarPermaisuri - Kuala Terengganu (109.7km)

Stage 10 - Saturday 8^th March 2014: Tasik Kenyir - Kuala Terenganu Loop (114.7km)

TOTALDISTANCE : 1506.5km