TWO POSITIVE SHOWINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA GIVE ANDRONI CONFIDENCE

Androni Team presented at LTdL 2014

Carlos Galvis wins the 5th stage at Vuelta a Tachira

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 FEBRUARY 2015 - Two positive early season outcomes in South America have boosted the confidence within one of Le Tour de Langkawi's (LTdL) ever-present teams Androni-Venezuela, who will start the 20th edition of the race in Langkawi from March 8 to 15. Charismatic Italian manager Gianni Savio said the invitation to compete in LTdL has always been appreciated by the team, who have not missed an edition since 1999 when the team was then called Aguardiente-Selle Italia. "I am happy to be back again with the team and we honour this invitation as we have our own tradition in Le Tour de Langkawi. We have won the overall title six times through Hernan Dario Munoz, Fredy Gonzalez and Jose Serpa of Colombia, Ruslan Ivanov of Moldova and Yonathan Monsalve of Venezuela," said Savio. "With good early season preparations through our participation in the Vuelta a Tachira in Venezuela and the Vuelta San Luis in Argentina, where we won a stage and were on the podium five times, we are on the right track to achieve success in LTdL." Androni, who have received an injection of a number of new sponsors for this new season, will this time parade two Italian sprinters Marco Benfatto and Marco Frapporti to bring their challenge in the bunch sprints in the flat stages, and will be hoping for a repeat stage win as was achieved by Dutch sprinter Kenny Van Hummel in Pontian last year. Without Italian climber Gianfranco Zilioli this time, Savio said, the team will be counting on new signing from Denmark, John Ebsen, who spent the past season racing in Asia with Team CCN, and Italy's Alessio Taliani, who made a promising debut in LTdL last year, finishing 23rd overall, along with Vuelta Tachira stage winner Jackson Rodriguez of Venezuela, who is a familiar fixture in LTdL. Rodriguez will have Centroamerica Championships winner Carlos Galves for company as Androni aim for their record seventh overall title in LTdL. LTdL 2015 chief executive officer Datuk Malik Mydin said the presence of Androni, who have already won 24 stages of LTdL, which is the second highest in the race's history, is also an honour for the organisers.  "Since they were known as Aguardiente, Colombia-Selle Italia, Diquigiovani and now Androni-Venezuela, the presence of this team has always been keenly anticipated by fans, as they always show their power in the climbing stages," said Datuk Malik. "I am sure they will select a strong team, which will be hard to beat even for the four UCI Pro Teams who will be present." ANDRONI-VENEZUELA'S SQUAD FOR LE TOUR de LANGKAWI 2015: Marco BENFATTO (ITA); Marco FRAPPORTI (ITA); John EBSEN (DEN); Alessio TALIANI (ITA); Jackson RODRIGUEZ (VEN); Carlos GALVIS (VEN)

NATION MOURNS THE LOSS OF A GREAT VOICE

Allahyarham Dato' Hasbullah, the voice of LTdL

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 FEBRUARY 2015 - Le Tour de Langkawi 2015 organisers Human Voyage Sdn Bhd describe the passing of legendary sportscaster Dato' Haji Hasbullah Awang as a tremendoues loss to sports as his vibrant and interesting commentaries and analysis which inspired the nation and lifted the sports scene in Malaysia.

LTdL 2015 chief executive officer Datuk Malik Mydin said Allahyarham Dato' Hasbullah was among the individuals who helped popularise LTdL in its early years through live commentaries and delayed highlights aired on RTM.

"We have to acknowledge that through Allahyarham's service at RTM and his commentaries on LTdL's earlier editions, the interest in cycling stage races had increased as he was capable of great commentaries, which had viewers captivated by the race and understood how stage racing was different from one-day races," said Datuk Malik.

"His voice and intonation when commentating livened up the atmosphere, and Dato' Hasbullah was also renowned as a hardworking professional, especially when gathering information for reference in his commentaries. He was also a caring senior who helped guide the careers of many young journalists and presenters that came after him.

"I got to know Allahyarham personally because he was among the journalists that provided coverage when I swam across the English Channel in 2003. At that time, I was close to the group of journalists who covered the event in London and we were always together while awaiting the green light from the English Channel Swimming Federation to begin the challenge."

According to Datuk Malik, the passing of Dato' Hasbullah, whose distinct aura when commentating live, was an irreplaceable loss to the sports media industry in this country.

Allahyarham Dato' Hj Hasbullah passed away at the National Heart Institute (IJN) yesterday due to a heart attack. His remains were laid to rest in Shah Alam yesterday evening.

TOP SCORER GUARDINI TO FACE YOUNGER SPRINTERS AT LTDL

LTdL Sprint King Andrea Guardini returns to add more to his stage record.

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 FEBRUARY 2015 - Andrea Guardini will tackle the Le Tour de Langkawi for the fifth consecutive time when the race will kick off on Malaysia’s paradisiacal island on March 8 (to be concluded in Kuala Lumpur on March 15), a place that has remained close to his heart.

“I’ll never forget that I started my pro cycling career in Langkawi and I got my first victory on day 1 in Langkawi”, said the Italian sprinter from the Astana team. That day, 23rd January 2011, Guardini started his incredible conquest of fourteen stage victories in four editions of the event. He definitely tops the tally, followed by Australia’s Graeme Brown who won nine stages from 2002 to 2005. He also holds the record of stage wins in one single LTdL with six in 2012.

Guardini, now 25, is a top sprinter with World Tour wins under his belt, at the 2012 Giro d’Italia and the 2014 Eneco Tour. He’s still young but he already faces the competition of younger fast riders eager to edge him out and take over from him in the tradition of LTdL as a champions making factory. 

“I’m very aware of the qualities of Caleb Ewan and Jakub Mareczko”, said Guardini of the two 20-year old who will make their debut at LTdL this year. “I know Mareczko, he’s from Brescia, not far from my hometown, he’s already a very good sprinter. He has won two stages in Venezuela [at the Vuelta Tachira] in January.”

Mareczko, also a Polish-born Italian who migrated with his mother when he was five years old, rides for Guardini’s old team previously known as Farnese Vini and now renamed Southeast, while Ewan, an Australian whose mother migrated from Seoul, Korea, to Sydney, won two stages for Orica-GreenEdge at the Herald Sun Tour last week.

Astana will also bring a 20-year old promising cyclist to Malaysia but he’s a climber: Miguel Angel Lopez is the Colombian winner of the 2014 Tour de l’Avenir – the U23 version of the Tour de France. He might well be this year’s sensation atop Genting Highlands.

“Astana is one of the favorite teams of Malaysian cycling fans”, said the CEO of the 2015 Le Tour de Langkawi Datuk Malik Mydin. “It’s the only World Team from Asia so our race perfectly fits in their philosophy to bridge Europe and Asia throughout the sport of cycling. It’s the winning team of the Tour de France with Vincenzo Nibali last year and they return to Malaysia with a line-up we like very much: a top sprinter, a top climber in the making and four Kazakhs riders including Aleksandr Dyachenko who finished fourth and won the Asian individual classification three years ago. They are the favorites for the Asian team classification this time around.”

THE ASTANA TEAM FOR THE 2015 LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI: 

Andrea GUARDINI (Ita), Aleksandr DYACHENKO (Kaz), Miguel Angel LOPEZ (Col), Daniil FOMINYKH (Kaz), Maxat AYAZBAYEV (Kaz), Arman KAMYSHEV (Kaz).

UNITEDHEALTHCARE BACK TO LTDL WITH TOUR DE FRANCE STAR BRAJKOVIC

Issac Bolivar finished 2nd at Genting Highlands in LTdL 2014

UHC's latest recruit Janez Brajkovic will bring his Tour de France experience to LTdL

KUALA LUMPUR, 6 February 2015 - American-registered Pro continental team Unitedhealthcare will be back at Le Tour de Langkawi for the fifth consecutive time after producing a great showing in 2014 with Isaac Bolivar’s third place overall and Bradley White’s audacious victory on stage 5 in Rembau. As the organization managed by Mike Tamayo keeps growing on the international cycling scene, they’ll line up with their new recruit Janez Brajkovic who made the headlines at the Tour de France not long ago.

“Until last year, we mostly focused on the sprints when we came to Le Tour de Langkawi”, said sports director Hendrik Redant. “But we had a nice surprise with Bolivar one year ago. He felt sick at the beginning of the race but he climbed to Genting Highlands really well. After he finished third overall in 2014, we’re targeting an even better performance this year. It’s going to be a different race because Genting will be at the end this time around but we also have a different team and more possibilities to perform with the arrival of Brajkovic.”

Brajkovic, 31, was the U23 world champion for individual time trial in 2004. Winning the 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné and finishing 9^th overall at the 2012 Tour de France are among the highlights of his career. He started his duty for UHC on a positive note with a 14^th place overall at the Tour de San Luis in Argentina in January.

“We’ve seen Brajkovic climbing with the best riders at the Tour de France so we’re looking forward to seeing him in action in Malaysia as well”, commented the CEO of the 2015 Le Tour de Langkawi Datuk Malik Mydin. “With the experience he’s got and the expertise of his sports director who is well known in our country, he’s very likely to wait for his time to come in the ascent to Genting Highlands and cap it off.”

It might be Brajkovic’s first participation to LTdL but Redant knows the race at perfection. “I’ve always loved this event, the country and the Malaysian people”, the Belgian coach said. “When I worked as Radio-Tour officer in 2011, I got to know the organization from the inside. LTdL has the reputation of a very well organized race that fully deserves its status as a H.C. event, which is the highest on the Asia Tour.”

THE UNITEDHEALTHCARE TEAM FOR THE 2015 LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:

Janez BRAJKOVIC (Slo), Jonathan CLARKE (Aus), Isaac BOLIVAR (Col), Kiel REIJNEN (USA), Ken HANSON (USA) and Carlos ALZATE (Col).

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.

RUSSIAN STAR PAVEL BRUTT BACK IN ACTION WITH TINKOFF-SAXO

Strong line-up for Tinkoff-Saxo

Pavel Brutt ready to rock LTdL 2015!

KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday 3rd February 2015 - As Le Tour de Langkawi celebrates its twentieth edition, a moment to remember from its rich history will be stage 9 from Putrajaya to Seremban in 2007 when Pavel Brutt stormed to victory. The Russian versatile rider will be back in action on Malaysia’s paradisiacal island when the race will kick off on March 8 for an eight-day journey to Kuala Lumpur.

“That day remained one of the best memories of my cycling career”, Brutt commented. “It was hot and I was so exhausted from climbing up to Genting Highlands the day before that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to complete the stage. But I ended up in the winning breakaway and I found the resources to attack from the front group and finish solo [7^th overall]. It was a historical moment for our team too.”

Eight years ago, LTdL invited the young Tinkoff Credit System that just registered as a Pro Continental team as it looked like being a team for the future. Brutt delivered their first ever victory in Malaysia. The Russian outfit eventually became Katusha in 2009. Brutt was their longest serving domestic rider until he moved to Tinkoff-Saxo during the last transfer window.

Russian millionaire Oleg Tinkoff bought the Saxo Bank team at the end of 2013.

“It’s wonderful to realize that such powerful people in cycling like Oleg and his team’s general manager Stefano Feltrin remember that Le Tour de Langkawi was the very first race organization of a UCI 2 H.C. event to invite them and they’re happy to come back now that they’re one of the world’s best teams if not the best”, noted the CEO of the 2015 LTdL Datuk Malik Mydin.

“We’ll have a very well balanced team for Le Tour de Langkawi”, said Brutt who will take part for the fourth time. “We aim for a top 5 overall with our Colombian climber Edward Beltran. We’ll go for the sprints with Michael Kolar who knows the race very well since last year [the Slovakian finished third in the points classification]. I intend to take part in many attacks and hopefully come up with another win like eight years ago.”

“Being new to this team, I want to show to the staff which kind of rider I am”, Brutt continued.

“I’ve started my season earlier than usual with the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia and I also have the Tour of Qatar on my program before I fly to Malaysia. I love my job more and more every year. This year I’d like to be part of a team that will win a Grand Tour with Alberto Contador.”

Brutt who already participated in eleven Grand Tours including the Tour de France three times showed his early season form by finishing fourth in the sixth and last stage of the Santos Tour Down Under.

THE TINKOFF-SAXO TEAM FOR THE 2015 LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:

Edward BELTRAN (Col), Jesper HANSEN (Den), Pavel BRUTT (Rus), Michael KOLAR (Slk), Bruno PIRES (Por), Nikolay TRUSOV (Rus).

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.