Jakub Mareczko makes it two in Rembau

An emotional finish for Jakub, his second time winning in Rembau

TEAL jersey goes to Jakub Mareczko

REMBAU, 28 February 2017 : Tipped as the hot favourites for the bunch sprint finishes this year, Italy’s Jakub Mareczko of Wilier Triestina became the first rider to win two stages at this year’s Le Tour de Langkawi as claimed stage 6 to Rembau after he opened his season’s account in Pantai Remis on day 3.

He’s unbeaten in Rembau where he took his first ever Malaysian success one year ago and therefore announced himself for filling the shoes of Andrea Guardini who holds the record of stage victories with 22. Also a diminutive sprinter, Mareczko moved into the lead of the points competition while Ryan Gibbons, fifth on the line, retained the yellow jersey.

“I put my team at the front in the final kilometers with [Filippo] Pozzato, [Alberto] Cecchin and [Rafael] Andriato to lead me out”, Mareczko explained. “There was a curve with 400 metres to go.

Cecchin took it in first position. After Andriato’s last pull, I opened my sprint. It feels very good to get a second stage win. I’m very happy today. After winning a stage, my goal this year was to get the points jersey. Now I have it and I hope to defend it tomorrow by trying to get another first place. I’m hoping for a sunny day to conclude Le Tour de Langkawi after the pouring rain we’ve had today.”

“My priority was to retain the yellow jersey”, echoed Gibbons. “It was nice to have the teal as well but Mareczko is a top quality rider. He’s fast! I’m not too disappointed. I’m happy for him but I hope I’ll get it back tomorrow. I was feeling very good today, also under the rain. I was cautious on the wet. It was easy to go down. Just stay upright and out of trouble, that was my concern. Tomorrow’s stage is short.

It’s going to be very aggressive. But we’re ready for it. I’m so thankful for the help I got from my team-mates. There’s one more day. I’m strongly hoping that I’ll be in yellow in Putrajaya as well.”

Veteran WorldTour rider Greg Henderson of Unitedhealthcare was awarded the combativity prize of the day after being the driving force behind the main breakaway of the day with Jacopo Mosca (Wilier Triestina), Huang En (Keyi Look), Dominic Perez (7/11) and escape artist Loh Sea Keong (Thailand Continental Team).

The conclusive stage of the 22^nd Le Tour de Langkawi will be 121km long from Setiawangsa (Kuala Lumpur) to Putrajaya.

MANCEBO CLINCHES JELAJAH MALAYSIA OVERALL WIN

Anuar and Andrea goes head to head

Stage 5 winners

Overall Team & Overall Asian Team Classification winner Skydive Dubai

Jersey winners of Jelajah Malaysia 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Sunday 13 December 2015 : As many had expected, Francisco Mancebo held steady to bag the overall win at the Jelajah Malaysia today while local hero Anuar Manan gave fans much to cheer as he romped to another stage win on home soil.

TSG's Anuar finished the final stage, which covered 47KM from Shah Alam to Dataran Merdeka, in 59 minutes and 37 seconds, outsprinting Italian Andrea Palini (Skydive Dubai) to victory as Seo Joon Yong (KSPO) came in third.

Mancebo (Skydive Dubai) finished 38th, but in the same group as Anuar it was enough to secure him the yellow jersey as he topped the general classification with a total time of 9:48:30s.

Palini and Cheung King Lok (Hong Kong National Team) finished second and third overall.

Mancebo said he was happy to get the job done and is looking forward to defending his title next year.

"At last we can keep the yellow jersey. It has been a tough week of racing and I want to thank the team for helping me achieve this," said Mancebo, who also won the Tour of Egypt this year.

"We stuck to our plan and although we could not get Palini the stage win, it was a good day.

"Although we had some problems this year, it was a good event and I am hopeful that we can come back and race here again next season."

Anuar, who won the third stage on Friday, said: " We knew this stage would be suitable for sprinters and I expected myself Harrif Saleh and Palini to fight for the win."

"At the end it was very close with Palini and I feel a bit lucky to have won. Overall, I am very happy with my performance and as well as how the team did this year."

Palini bagged the overall points classification title (blue jersey) while Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki (TSG) had in stage four taken the red jersey. 

Skydive Dubai took both the general and Asian team classification titles while Kim Okcheol (Korea National Team) won the best young rider category (white jersey) overall title.

Jelajah Malaysia covered a total distance of 435 KM over five stages this year.

The Jelajah Malaysia 2015 is held from 9th to 13th December and is a UCI sanctioned 2.2 class race, organised by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation and managed by Peloton Resources.

SKYDIVE TURN UP THE HEAT

Leaders after stage 4, Andrea Palini takes over the Blue jersey from teammate Francisco Mancebo

Adrea Palini wins stage 4

Stage 4 winners

PUTRAJAYA, Saturday 12 December 2015 : Skydive Dubai strengthened their grip on the tour as Andrea Palini notched his first Jelajah Malaysia stage win and teammate Francisco Mancebo maintained a comfortable lead in the general classification in the penultimate stage today.
Palini took the win in two hours, 42 minutes and 29 seconds with Team Hong Kong's Leung Chun Wing and Indonesian Arin Iswana (Pegasus Continental Cycling Team) finishing second and third in the sprint finish.

The Italian said he was delighted to notch the win in a stage he considers to be the toughest so far in the tour. 

The fourth stage saw riders covering 115.3KM. The race started at Berjaya Times Square and passed through hill sections in Ampang, Hulu Langat and Semenyih before ending in Putrajaya.

"It was a very difficult race, we had to work really hard in the beginning and after the climbs," said Palini.

"Towards the end I had two of my teammates with me and they did a great job to help setup for the sprint.

"I am very happy as we have two jerseys now and hopefully we can continue doing well tomorrow."

Palini's win saw him take charge of the blue jersey (points classification) with a total of 26 points. Korean Park Sung Baek (KSPO) and Mancebo are second and third with 25 and 18 points respectively.

Mancebo, who finished the stage in 23rd in the same group as Palini, retained the yellow jersey with a total time of 8:48:53s. Palini moved up to second while Team Hong Kong's Cheung King Lok is third with the duo 1:23s and 1:26s adrift of the Spaniard.

Mancebo said he is optimistic of closing out the win in the final stage tomorrow.

"It was very tough today, everybody attacked but we managed to get the results we wanted," said Mancebo.

"I am happy we could keep up and hopefully we can do the same tomorrow. It is definitely my goal to win the overall title."

With no points on offer in the final stage, Terengganu Cycling Team's (TSG) Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki secured the overall King of Mountains (red jersey) title after another crossing the line first at the Ampang lookout point, the first KOM point of the day.

Amirul ended the mountains classification tied on 14 points together with Iran's Hamid Beikkhormizi (Pishgaman Giant Team) but was awarded the overall win as he had finished first at more mountain points then the latter.

Aussie Jai Crawford (Kinan Cycling Team) came in third on eight points.

Amirul said: "This is my second red jersey win after Tour of Sharjah and I am very happy as it is the first time I have done it at Jelajah Malaysia."

"At the end it was very close but I believe I won it fairly. It was a really tough competition as the riders from Iran and Philippines are very strong."

The fifth and final stage of Jelajah Malaysia will see riders starting at the Proton Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam and ending at Dataran Merdeka, covering a total distance of 47KM.

The Jelajah Malaysia 2015 is held from 9th to 13th December and is a UCI sanctioned 2.2 class race, organised by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation and managed by Peloton Resources.