SKY A VALUABLE ADDITION TO THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS LIST OF LTDL

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 January 2015 - The twentieth Le Tour de Langkawi will feature a prestigious start list when the race will kick off from Malaysia’s legendary island on March 8 for an eight-day journey to Kuala Lumpur via the east coast and Genting Highlands.

For the first time, double Tour de France winners Team Sky (with Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Chris Froome in 2013) will top the list of the participating World Teams alongside returning Orica-GreenEdge, Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo.

“Those teams are four of the five very best in the world”, noted the CEO of the 2015 Le Tour de Langkawi Datuk Malik Mydin. “We’re talking about teams who have won three Tour de France, one Giro d’Italia and two Vuelta a España in the past three years. It’s a huge honour to have them racing in Malaysia. Their faith in our organization is very much appreciated.”

Astana won the 2013 Giro and the 2014 Tour with Vincenzo Nibali, Tinkoff-Saxo won the Vuelta with Alberto Contador in 2012 and 2014. Orica-GreenEdge led those three Grand Tours in the past two years: the 2013 Tour de France with former LTdL participants Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey, the 2014 Giro and Vuelta with Michael Matthews who also used LTdL as a stepping stone in his career with two stage wins in 2011 at the age of 19.

“It’s always fantastic to hear champions like Richie Porte saying that they’ve kept a found memory of Malaysia”, Datuk Malik said. “That’s the tradition we want to maintain as Le Tour de Langkawi is reaching the age of 20. That’s also why we insist on having a well balanced field that includes World Teams and Pro Continental teams but also third tier teams from continental level to give Asians and emerging cycling countries a chance to step up to the highest level.”

Seven Pro Continental teams will make their way to Malaysia with French outfit Bretagne-Séché taking part for the first time. “It means one more Tour de France team as they recently got a wild card for the second consecutive year”, Datuk Malik added. “We’re also glad that MTN-Qhubeka will come back to LTdL after they received their first ever invitation to the Tour de France.” Italian based Androni-Venezuela, Bardiani CSF and Southeast, all invited to the 2015 Giro d’Italia, will return to Langkawi, as well as Team Colombia who took the first yellow jersey with Duber Quintero last year and America’s Unitedhealthcare with a seriously reinforced roster.

Eleven continental teams, all from Asia and emerging cycling countries with close ties with Malaysia have been selected to complete the start list. It includes first timers Torku Sekerspor from Turkey and Skydive Dubai from the UAE as well as one more local team NSC, representing the National Sports Council of Malaysia, has joined the country’s favourites Terengganu in the continental ranks.

LTDL 2015 ROUTE RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS FOR THE 20th EDITION

(L-R) Youth & Sports Minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin, LTdL 2015 CEO Datuk Malik Mydin and Deputy Chief Secretary Youth & Sports Ministry Datuk Jamil Salleh PUTRAJAYA, Wednesday 21st January 2015 - From the legendary island of Langkawi to the East Coast and a fitting climax with the Genting stage coming on the penultimate day, the route for Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2015 will give cycling fans what they have been longing for again. Launched in Putrajaya today, the route ticks all the boxes in elements that have formed the basis of LTdL's successful routes of the past - with a traditional start in the race's birthplace of Langkawi, heading from the West to the East Coast of the peninsula where the following for cycling is massive and leaving the battle for the overall title to the penultimate day. "In the earlier editions of LTdL, the Genting stage was usually held on the penultimate day. We think this helped build up to an exciting climax and this is the scenario we hope to bring back with this year's route," said LTdL 2015 chief executive officer Datuk Malik Mydin. "We will have the most fitting start for the race, the Genting stage appropriately held on the penultimate day, which means the climax will be left till very late and then for the 20th edition we will also mark it with a return to the traditional finish venue at Dataran Merdeka," added Datuk Malik. The race has also been trimmed to eight stages from 10 stages between 2010 and 2014. This is expected to provide even faster racing covering a total distance of 1,110.50 kilometres. LTdL 2015 begins on Sunday, March 8 with a 101.1km stage around Langkawi set from the Underwater World in Pantai Chenang, then moves to the mainland for Stage 2 from Alor Star, the birthplace of LTdL founder Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to Sungai Petani, which covers 170km. Stage 3 again brings back the glory days of LTdL with what is regarded as the most scenic stage of the race - the 170km run from Gerik to Tanah Merah, which runs past lush tropical forests and marked with a tough climb to the top of the Titiwangsa range. The race will then bring the pure sprinters to the land of Malaysian sprinters - the flat, scenic, coastal roads of the East Coast for the next two days. This is where the top sprinters in the peloton will be expected to come face-to-face with the Malaysian sprinters in their own backyard. Stage 4 takes the peloton from Kota Bharu to Kuala Berang in a 165.4km route that is expected to finish in an exciting bunch sprint, before the peloton prepare for the Tour's longest stage. Stage 5 covers 200km from Kuala Terengganu to Kuantan, another tricky route through undulating terrain hampered further by expected strong coastal winds. We then begin the journey back to the West Coast from Stage 6 with a 111.3km route from Maran to Karak, which should effectively begin the battle for the general classification and king of the mountains jersey. Then we head to the stage every cycling fan has been waiting for, the legendary Genting stage on Stage 7, which starts from Shah Alam. This is where undoubtedly the race will be decided by the main climbers in the peloton. The race ends with the traditional finish venue set back at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur where the peloton will run a circuit in the city centre after a ceremonial start in Kuala Kubu Baru. "Although shortened to eight stages this year, we believe all the elements required to make this an exciting route has been met. So we are looking forward to this edition of the race which we expect to be a fitting celebration of 20 years of Le Tour de Langkawi," said Datuk Malik. Organised by Human Voyage Sdn Bhd, the 20th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from 8 to 15 March, 2015 is set to cover more than 1,000km over 8 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

TORKU, A NEWCOMER FROM TURKEY AT LTDL

Team Torku Sekerspor ready to compete in LTdL 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Friday, 16^th January 2015 - For the first time in twenty editions, a Turkish team will take part in Le Tour de Langkawi with Torku Sekerspor due to line up on Malaysia’s Paradisiacal island with Belgian star and former Astana rider Kevin Seeldrayers as well as up and coming Turkish sprinter Ahmet Örken who won stage 9 of the 2014 Tour of Qinghai Lake at the age of 21.

Moreover, the Turkish outfit has boosted its ambitions by hiring respected coach Lionel Marie who previously worked as a sport’s director for Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, Garmin, Orica-GreenEdge and Giant-Shimano. “I’ve found a team with a great dynamics and people eager to learn from the world of the Pro Teams”, the Frenchman noticed. “I’ve seen some serious improvements during our training camps. Now Le Tour de Langkawi will be our first test to evaluate ourselves ahead of the Presidential Tour of Turkey at the end of April. We’ll come with Örken as a sprinter and our two captains, Seeldrayers and [Tomasz] Marczynski.”

Best young rider of the 2009 Giro d’Italia (10^th overall), Seeldrayers, 28, is a pure climber while Marczynski, 30, a versatile rider from Poland, claimed his most significant result when he completed the 2012 Vuelta a Espana in 13^th position overall. Based in Konya on the Asian part of the country and sponsored by a huge chocolate and cake maker, Torku’s main aim is to develop Turkish riders in a country where cycling is booming since the Tour of Turkey, also a Hors-Category event like Le Tour de Langkawi, reached the big league of cycling in 2008.

“Malaysia and Turkey currently have strong economic ties and a long history of friendship”, said the CEO of the 2015 Le Tour de Langkawi Datuk Abdul Malik Mydin. “It’s a great pleasure to help each other develop cycling as well. For our twentieth edition, it’s nice to have a team from a new horizon. It shows that our event keeps expanding its influence all over the world. I’m sure Torku will deliver a good show at LTdL.”

The Torku Sekerspor team will be followed on Malaysian roads by Turkish national television TRT.

THE TORKU SEKERSPOR TEAM FOR LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2015:

Kevin SEELDRAYERS (BEL), Tomazs MARCZYNSKI (POL), Sergiy GRECHYN (UKR), Ahmet ÖRKEN (TUR), Nazim BAKIRCI (TUR), and Mirac KAL (TUR).

VITTORIA CONTINUES AS NEUTRAL SERVICE PROVIDER IN LTDL 2015

(L-R) LTdL 2015 Technical Director Geoff Kronenbourg and Chief Executive Officer of Vittoria Industries Asia Pacific Willem Campagne with KSU Youth & Sports Ministry Datuk Jamil Salleh

PUTRAJAYA, Wednesday, 14^th January 2015 - Italian tyre brand Vittoria will continue as neutral service providers, adding world class support for riders at the 20th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) scheduled to take place from March 8 to 15.

Once again bringing it's proud record as providers of the race services at the Giro d'Italia to LTdL, Chief Executive Officer of Vittoria Industries Asia Pacific Willem Campagne expressed his amazement with the level of professionalism in terms of organisation, participation and national support towards LTdL similar to the biggest races in the world.

“When we say Le Tour de Langkawi is a global event, we truly mean that at every level. We are proud to communicate our sponsorship and neutral race support participation of the Tour de Langawi, next to the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de Dubai and many more like that.” He said.

Vittoria, said Campagne, again hopes to bring expertise not just in helping support riders during the tough race, but also to help provide an experience to be enjoyed by fans and particularly for the cycling enthusiasts.

"Just like last year, Vittoria will again deploy its Servizio Corse Digital platform. This platform allows anyone and everyone to send pictures, selfies etc to our hashtags which will be put on screens around the race, and directly posted on diverse social media," he said. 

"The interesting part is, that last year we had achieved a total cumulative reach of 12 million page/post views of the content that was uploaded by the public. We are going to try and break that record this year.

"Next to this, Vittoria launched a new product range last year – high end bicycle wheels. Some of these wheels are made with a radical new and patented material called Nano-Graphene, where Vittoria is still today the only company in the world to do so. 

"This material radically changes wheel properties making them lighter, stronger and allows for much higher heat dispersion which, for example, will allow riders to brake later before heading into a corner. So I am very proud to announce that the Tour de Langkawi is the first official UCI race in the world where these wheels with this new material will be used for neutral race support throughout the Tour de Langawi. 

"It remains to be said once again – we are very proud to be a part of this great race. For Vittoria Asia Pacific it will remain in the top 3 regional events we will sponsor and actively participate for the foreseeable future.  Next to this, Malaysia is for us a key APAC market where we have and will continue to invest in, with our first representatives hired last year. In Malaysia, we are growing very fast."

LTdL Chief Executive Officer Datuk Abdul Malik Mydin welcomed Vittoria on board for the 20th edition, “Since 1953 Vittoria Industries Ltd. has built highly reputable partnerships within the cycling industry. Words cannot express my gratitude towards Vittoria for having so much faith in us as the new organizer. It is really an honour to be associated with a world-class name.," said Malik.

"We share the same dedication towards bringing the best support and products for cycling fans and we will be aiming to keep this relationship going."

Organised by Human Voyage Sdn Bhd, the 20th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from 8 to 15 March, 2015 is set to cover more than 1,000km over 8 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

ORICA-GREENEDGE BACK TO LTDL WITH SPRINT RISING STAR CALEB EWAN

Rising sprint star Caleb Ewan aiming for stage wins for Orica-GreenEGDE

KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday, 6^th January 2015 - As Le Tour de Langkawi is known as champion making factory, the young man to watch will be Australia’s Caleb Ewan when the twentieth edition of the race will kick off on Malaysia’s Paradisiacal island on March 8. The 20-year-old will line up as Orica-GreenEdge’s top sprinter for the eight-day long event set to finish in Kuala Lumpur.

“Le Tour de Langkawi will be my first race of the year out of Australia”, Ewan announced from his home in Moss Vale, New South Wales. Sitting out the Santos Tour Down Under he took part in last year with his national team, he’ll warm up at the newly created Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on February 1^st and the Herald Sun Tour from February 4 to 8.

“The team has chosen for me a racing calendar that allows me to target some victories”, the Australian explained. “Winning is my reason to cycle. I’m excited to ride Le Tour de Langkawi as I know I’ll have some opportunities to try and win a stage or more. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Malaysia and I’ve seen many pictures of sprints from this race. They look great!”

Ewan officially started his pro career with the 2014 Tour of Beijing where he placed second in stage 1 after taking the silver medal at the U23 world championship for road racing in Ponferrada, Spain. Having mixed blood since he was born (in July 1994) from a Korean mother, he feels a strong attraction to Asia even though the successful career everyone expects for him will take him mostly to Europe under the wings of superstar Simon Gerrans who also participated in Le Tour de Langkawi in 2008.

“Our race has a 20-year long history of Australian sprinters delivering a great show on our roads”, said the CEO of the 2015 Le Tour de Langkawi Datuk Abdul Malik Mydin. “I remember watching Jay Sweet winning stages in the very first edition back in 1996. It’ll be great to see Caleb in Malaysia before he performs in Europe.”

With Le Tour de Langkawi, Ewan also follows the path of David McKenzie, a stage winner in 1999 turned into a brilliant TV cycling commentator, Graeme Brown who won nine stages from 2002 to 2005, Stuart O’Grady, a double stage winner in 2003, and so was Michael Matthews in 2010. In the history of the race, Australia is second to Italy with 24 stages wins in total.

To back Ewan for stage wins at LTdL, Orica-GreenEdge has selected a strong contingent of time triallists and lead out men with Damien Howson, Sam Bewley, Adam Blythe and Leigh Howard alongside their GC rider Pieter Weening who returns to Malaysia for the third year in a row. The Dutch stage winner of last year’s Giro d’Italia finished second in the 2013 LTdL behind Colombia’s Julian Arredondo.

“Weening is a world class rider, also a former pink jersey at the Giro”, added Datuk Malik. “His desire to come back is an honor for us, Malaysians. We’re looking forward to seeing these great cyclists in action here.”

ORICA-GREENEDGE FOR LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2015 :

Caleb EWAN (AUS), Sam BEWLEY (NZL), Damien HOWSON (AUS), Leigh HOWARD (AUS), Adam BLYTHE (GBR) and Pieter WEENING (NED)

Organised by Human Voyage Sdn Bhd, the 20th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from 8 to 15 March, 2015 is set to cover more than 1,000km over 8 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.