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(L-R) Mr. Shahirudeen Seeni Mohamed (Director of Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd), Mr. Emir Abdul Jalal (CEO LTdL 2017),
Mr. Owen Riley (Head of BMW Motorrad), Mr. Sashi Ambi (Head of Corporate Communications,
BMW Group Malaysia), Mr. Kidd Yam (Head of MINI) and Mr Jayden Lieu (Dealer Principal, Wheelcorp Premium).
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Premium
automaker supports Asia’s premier cycling stage race with a fleet of BMW, MINI
and BMW Motorrad vehicles and is the White Jersey Sponsor for the Best Asian
Rider.
KUALA
LUMPUR, Monday, 13 February 2017 : BMW
Group Malaysia and Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today announced the appointment
of the premium automaker as the Official Automotive Partner of the Le Tour de
Langkawi Malaysia competition for the year 2017.
Speaking at the official announcement
ceremony, LTdL Chief Executive Officer Emir Abdul Jalal said, “The Le Tour de
Langkawi competition is the highest ranked stage race on the Asia Tour calendar
with a UCI 2.HC status much like the competitions held in China and Japan - the
Tour of Qinghai Lake, the Tour of Hainan as well as the Japan Cup. Our event
remains Asia’s premier cycling stage race because we support Asian cycling more
than any organizer does at this level of competition.”
Emir added that the most
prestigious cycling stage race in the country was pleased to have BMW Group
Malaysia as the Official Automotive Partner for the competition in 2017 and
hoped that the new partnership would the best push for the competition this
year.
Echoing Emir, Sashi Ambi, Head
of Corporate Communications, BMW Group Malaysia said, “Le Tour de Langkawi 2017
is our first ever presence in the sport of cycling at the highest level in the
region and we at BMW Group Malaysia are very excited with the opportunity. We
are also pleased to be the White Jersey Sponsor for the competition as the
White Jersey is the award for the Best Asian Rider which signifies the
discovery of local or regional talent and heroes in the sport.”
Ambi added that BMW Group
Malaysia views identifying, developing and supporting emerging talent a premium
expression but more than this, to be able to be part of the success of these
talents and to share these successes with fellow Malaysians across the country
for inspiration and future talent creation is an important direction the
premium automaker wants to pursue.
In saying this, Ambi was referring to Terengganu
born rider Muhamad Adiq Hussainie Othman who became the first Malaysian to ever
receive the award of Best Asian Rider since its inception at the third edition
of LTdL in 1998.
At only the age of 26, the competition in 2017 will be Adiq’s eighth
consecutive participation in the prestigious cycling stage race. This time
around, however, he is turning up as the defending champion in the Best Asian
Rider Category, the winner of the White Jersey last year.
“Adiq’s
courageous defense of the white jersey with the backing of his team TSG has
been one of the highlights of last year’s race.” said LTdL Chief Executive Officer
Emir Abdul Jalal. “Many Malaysians have been touched and inspired by his
performance. Throughout this special classification, we’re delighted to show
that Malaysians can successfully compete against the best riders of the continent.”
Emir added
that cycling is predominantly a European sport and with all the participation
requests received from Europe, America and Oceania, one might think that Asian
teams would be left out but that’s out of question. He said, “Officials at the
international cycling union (UCI) keep saying that cycling is growing faster in
Asia than anywhere else in the world and we are proud to be part of this
movement which is why we give priority to the Asian teams when it comes to
selection at continental level.”
At the 2017 Le
Tour de Langkawi, asian riders will get a chance to challenge WorldTour giants
and Grand Tours cyclists from the Pro Continental ranks from China, Japan,
Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and
of course Malaysia. Another first for the competition, Thailand has registered
a continental team, Thailand Continental Cycling Team which includes popular
Malaysian LTdL rider Loh Sea Keong who has been in the competition ten times
and is the only Malaysian to have raced with a WorldTour team with
Giant-Shimano in 2014.
New teams to
lookout for at the competition this year include Keyi Look Cycling Team from
China, the Singapore-registered Infinite AIS, Malaysia’s Sapura Cycling Team
and KFC of Indonesia.
PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE BEST ASIAN RIDER COMPETITION
AT LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:
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)
2014: Mirsamad
Pourseyedigolakhour (IRA)
2015: Tomohiro
Hayakawa (JAP)
2016: Adiq
Hussainie Othman (MAS)
As the
Official Automotive Partner, BMW Group Malaysia will be supporting the Le Tour
de Langkawi Malaysia 2017 with a fleet of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles
which will be utilized throughout the competition by Marshalls, Officials as
well as special shuttles for the riding teams.
At the
official announcement, BMW Group Malaysia presented LTdl with the fleet of cars
and motorcycles which will be utilized in the competition this year. The
premium automaker was represented by Mr. Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate
Communications, BMW Group Malaysia; Mr. Kidd Yam, Head of MINI and Mr. Owen
Riley, Head of BMW Motorrad.
Organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia
and managed by Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd, the 22nd edition of Le Tour de Langkawi
(LTdL) from 22 February to 1 March, 2017 is set to cover more than 1,200km over
8 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the
biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.
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