A NEW HISTORY TO BE WRITTEN ON TEAL JERSEY

LTdL 2017 Head of Sponsorship and Marketing Sarah Yasmin Khairuddin, LTdL 2017 CEO Emir Abdul Jalal, BSN Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Support), Ahmad Latfan Mohd Amran and BSN Senior Vice President (Head Strategic Communications) Puspa Marina Dato’ Hj Omar presents the Teal Sprint Champion Jersey and BSN Sponsorship.

KUALA LUMPUR, 23 January 2017 : Fans attending the post-stages podium ceremonies of Le Tour de Langkawi will continue to cheer for the international race and their favourite cyclists from February 22 to March 1st.  Partnering with BSN as one of the main sponsors, Teal remains the colour of speed – the Sprint Champion Jersey,  one of the 4 jerseys up for grab throughout the race. 

“We are delighted to have BSN on board again. Their teal colour is now synonymous with speed at LTdL. It signifies passion, commitment and agility; the vital traits of a sprinter.  Further, it is one of the colours of the points classification leader jersey at LTdL.”, said the CEO of Le Tour de Langkawi Emir Abdul Jalal.

BSN Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Support), Ahmad Latfan Mohd Amran said, BSN is of the main sponsors; sponsoring the Sprint Champion Jersey and also the Prize Money Presenter for the competition routes covering 8 stages which involves 5 states and 1 Federal Territory.

“This is our second year partnering with LTDL as one of the main sponsors. Last year, our new corporate colour Teal was introduced as one of the 4 jerseys for grab at all stages. Teal the colour of speed is significantly relevant to not just BSN but also LTDL as it represents agility and the need for speed in order to win.  At the same time, I believe the colour is also different yet vibrant and would make a nice jersey collection to be won among the sprinters. Additionally, as the colour connotes agility, it indicates LtDL still stand tall as one of the favourite international sporting events in Malaysia even after 20 years. ”.

Ahmad Latfan added, “LTdL is an effective platform to reaffirm BSN’s brand positioning as  an organization that provides financial services within easy reach.  The race that goes to 8 stages allows us to have our presence and reach out to our customers directly at states.  It gives us the opportunity to have meaningful engagement activities and effective channel to not only get closer to our customers but also to continue sharing our range of products and services, so that a better life is within their reach”.

Last year, Italy’s Andrea Guardini became the first Teal Sprint rider to win the points competition three times [after 2011 and 2012]. Unfortunately, he would not be defending his title this time around after transferring from Astana to the UAE Abu Dhabi squad. His record number of 22 stage victories will remain out of reach for a few years but Le Tour de Langkawi will not remain short in talented sprinters and the 2017 route certainly appeals to them again.

Malaysia’s Anuar Manan is the only Asian to have won the points competition since the inception of the race in 1996. He might as well be the only previous winner to line up this time around. “We’re yet to receive the entry forms of some the teams but we can already foresee a fierce battle between Italian and Australian sprinters”, the CEO of the 2017 Le Tour de Langkawi Emir Abdul Jalal predicted.

Stage winners in 2016, Andrea Palini and Jakub Mareczko will be in action again while Australian outfit IsoWhey Sport Swisswellness had a second thought and decided to opt for former keirin Scott Sunderland to challenge the riders from the WorldTour and Pro Continental ranks.

“Every day, there are points up for grabs, three times at intermediate sprints and once on the finishing line”, Emir explained. “Riders are welcome to score points in a solo effort or to contest them in a small group of frontrunners. Le Tour de Langkawi is known as a sprinters’ affair but the points competition is open to all kinds of riders. “

PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE POINTS CLASSIFICATION AT LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:

1996: Jay Sweet (AUS)

1997: Nicola Loda (ITA)

1998: Fred Rodriguez (USA)

1999: Graeme Miller (N.Z.) 

2000: Gordon Fraser (CAN)

2001: Paolo Bettini (ITA)

2002: Robert Hunter (RSA)

2003: Graeme Brown (AUS)

2004: Gordon Fraser (CAN)

2005: Graeme Brown (AUS)

2006: Steffen Radochla (GER)

2007: Alberto Loddo (ITA)

2008: Aurélien Clerc (SUI)

2009: Mattia Gavazzi (ITA)

2010: Anuar Manan (MAS)

2011: Andrea Guardini (ITA)

2012: Andrea Guardini (ITA)

2013: Francesco Chicchi (ITA)

2014: Aidis Kruopis (LIT)

2015: Caleb Ewan (AUS)

2016: Andrea Guardini (ITA)

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.

TEAL IS THE COLOUR OF SPEED

LTdL 2016 CEO Emir Abdul Jalal accepts the sponsorship from BSN Deputy Chief Executive Frederick Siew

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 February 2016 – Fans of Le Tour de Langkawi will get accustomed to a new colour when watching the stages dedicated to sprinters as the leader of the points classification will be wearing a teal jersey made by Ciclista. It is the trademark of incoming sponsor Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN).

“As we welcome BSN into the LTdL family, we are delighted to introduce this new colour in the world of cycling”, said the CEO of Le Tour de Langkawi Emir Abdul Jalal. 

“It’s a beautiful one, made by mixing green and blue, which were successively the colours of the points classification leader jersey at LTdL. It was green before 2010 and blue since. Yellow is known as the colour of the overall leader of the race like at the Tour de France but bike race organizers are entitled to choose the colours of the different distinctive jerseys. So for us, teal is the new colour of speed.”

“Following our recent rebranding, we are pleased to bring a new touch to this renowned event that has been taking place for more than 20 years. We want to reach out to Malaysians and build relationships in ways that matter to them, and supporting sports as well as sports tourism is a good way to achieve this. Supporting a major sporting event is also an effective way to build brand recognition for BSN and change public perceptions of our identity and how we have evolved. Le Tour de Langkawi is an excellent fit as the cyclists are fast, dynamic and constantly moving forward just like the bank is – particularly the Sprint King Champion who will be wearing the new teal jersey,” said Frederick Siew, Deputy Chief Executive of BSN.

He also added, “Besides sponsoring the Sprint Champion Jersey, BSN is also the Prize Money Presenter sponsor. We are excited to be part of this prestigious cycling event as the competition route covers 8 stages which involves 8 states and 2 Federal Territories. This allows us to have our on ground presence and reach out direct to our customers. BSN will have its promotional booth at all these stages and we plan for on ground activation activities through out the competition.” 

The points classification is often regarded as the sprinters’ challenge. However, it’s not only about winning bunch sprints. It’s in reality the reward for consistency. “Every day, there are points up for grabs, three times a day at intermediate sprints and once on the finishing line”, Emir explained. “Riders are welcome to score points in a solo effort or to contest them in a small group of frontrunners. Le Tour de Langkawi is known as a sprinters’ affair but we can expect some surprises this year with some subtle routes like in Penang on stage 2. It’ll be up to the sport directors of different teams to set up tactics for different scenarios.”

In the 20-year history of LTdL, only two non-sprinters have won the competition: Italian attacker and domestique “Niki” Loda riding for MG-Technogym at the service of Luca Scinto in 1997 and “silver fox” Graeme Miller from New Zealand whose never-give-up attitude earned him the jersey in 1999 at the age of 39. Eventual world champion in 2006 and 2007 Paolo Bettini who won the competition in 2001 was also not a pure sprinter but he had won two bunch sprints, one of them on the penultimate day after the Genting Highlands stage where most of the sprinters, including green jersey wearer Jans Koerts from Mercury, got eliminated for finishing beyond the time cut.

The distinctive jersey of the points classification is the only one ever won by a Malaysian as Anuar Manan, a stage winner in 2010, made the final podium also that year. Only three riders have won the points classification on two occasions: Canada’s Gordon Fraser (in 2000 and 2004), Australia’s Graeme Brown (in 2003 and 2005) and Andrea Guardini (in 2011 and 2012). With eighteen stage wins in five straight participations, the Italian fast man is now the iconic sprinter of LTdL but he failed to win the points classification in the past three years.

“We’re yet to receive the entry forms of some the 22 teams but I can reveal that Guardini will be back to Malaysia with Astana again”, Emir informed. “He’ll obviously be the hot favourite for our brand new teal jersey but he’ll face a fierce competition once again, in particular from Matt Goss of One Pro Cycling.”

PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE POINTS CLASSIFICATION AT LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:
1996: Jay Sweet (AUS)
1997: Nicola Loda (ITA)
1998: Fred Rodriguez (USA)
1999: Graeme Miller (N.-Z.)
2000: Gordon Fraser (CAN)
2001: Paolo Bettini (ITA)
2002: Robert Hunter (RSA)
2003: Graeme Brown (AUS)
2004: Gordon Fraser (CAN)
2005: Graeme Brown (AUS)
2006: Steffen Radochla (GER)
2007: Alberto Loddo (ITA)
2008: Aurélien Clerc (SUI)
2009: Mattia Gavazzi (ITA)
2010: Anuar Manan (MAL)
2011: Andrea Guardini (ITA)
2012: Andrea Guardini (ITA)
2013: Francesco Chicchi (ITA)
2014: Aidis Kruopis (LIT)
2015: Caleb Ewan (AUS)