Travis McCabe makes it two, Ryan Gibbons makes history

Travis McCabe takes the final stage at Putrajaya.

Team Dimension Data celebrates at the finish

Top 3 for today's stage

Loh Sea Keong takes the award for the most combative rider  in Stage 8

Best Malaysia Category

Best Overall team is IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness

Best Asian Team goes to Vino Astana Motors

Asian Classification - top 3 - won by Hideto Nakane

KOM Classification - top 3 - won by John Ebsen

Points Classification- top 3 - won by Ryan Gibbons

Overall Classification - top 3 - won by Ryan Gibbons

Here's the 22nd edition of LTdL 2017 jersey winners.

PUTRAJAYA, 1 March 2017 : WorldTour squad Dimension Data became the first team to win Le Tour de Langkawi on three consecutive editions with three different African riders as neo pro Ryan Gibbons, 22, followed the path of Algeria’s Youcef Reguigui and his compatriot Reinardt Janse van Rensburg from South Africa.

He finished fourth of the conclusive stage in Putrajaya won by Travis McCabe who made it two for Unitedhealthcare after he took stage 2 and regained the points competition as well, throughout the intermediate sprints as he won all three of them.

“We wanted to race hard again today”, McCabe declared. “Typically when the race is hard and there are a few climbs, we can get rid of some heavy sprinters. The sprint came down to the last corner and I had Greg Henderson putting me in perfect position and I jumped at about 300 metres to go. Coming from doing the same job in the WorldTour, he makes my life so much easier! Pretty much all I have to do is to put my hands up. All the guys allowed me to get this win. We had a double goal as we really wanted [Daniel] Jaramillo to take the time bonuses to jump on the podium. He’s got a good kick. So I was not looking at the sprint jersey, I was more looking at the stage win.”

“This was my first time here. I’ll remember the beautiful landscapes of Malaysia. The people were fantastic. That was awesome to see so many people out there cheering us on. I couldn’t ask for a better race to start off the season. I’m really happy that I came and we’ll be back next year.”

“Before coming to Malaysia, I didn’t think I’d be sitting here with the yellow jersey at the end”, said Gibbons who learned “jesi kuning” in bahasa Malaysia during his six days in the lead of LTdL. “The team had a lot of faith in me but to have responsibility to lead in the second race of my first year as a pro, but I couldn’t have imagined the dream coming true this week. It’s been stressful, even having the yellow jersey, being on good form and believing in myself.”

“On the second climb, IsoWhey attacked. But I had Jacques [Janse van Rensburg], our road captain, with me the whole time. He told me to relax and not too worry although I could have gone harder for the intermediate sprints. A group of sixteen riders got fifteen seconds ahead of us in the main climb but we caught them very quickly. After that I knew we should have the jersey for good but this is cycling, anything can happen, a crash or a mechanical. Even going into the last sprint, I touched wheel with my team-mates in a corner.”

“It was a goal to win the last stage as well. I’m disappointed not to have made it but in the last curve I was maybe where I shouldn’t. I was following Pippo [Pozzato] and [Alberto] Cecchin. When I came out, it was way too late. There were five riders up the road. I was able to catch two of them but I was glad to stay up and win yellow and teal.”

Gibbons was the second South African to win the points competition after his mentor Robert Hunter fifteen years ago. “He was the first South African to win a stage in all three Grand Tours”, he continued.

“He’s definitely a role model. I see myself as a very similar rider to him. He was a sprinter but also someone who could go well in small climbs and do all right in time trial. He’s the one who put cycling on the map in South Africa. I do look up to him. He inspired many South Africans.”

“It’s really special to follow his footsteps, also here in Malaysia. If I do half of what he achieved, it would be a successful career for me. He’s been talking to me every day during Le Tour de Langkawi. He has a lot of faith in me as well. Since 2004, he’s believed that I can do a lot. He’s been motivating me this week, which is great. From day 3, he believed I could win the Tour. His support really helped.”

“I’m really ambitious and I’m very hungry”, Gibbons concluded. “I’d be a liar if I’d say I don’t want to win more. It’s been a perfect start. I have to keep on learning. I don’t want to set myself goals that I can’t achieve. Hopefully this is just the beginning. It was my first time in this position. “

“I’ve learned that with winning come the press, the media, the fans… I had never experienced a team work like that. I also learned a lot about sprinting. I’ve only won a stage, I’ve been second, third, fourth and fifth. I don’t look at those as seven losses. I look at them as seven learning experiences. I know what not to do now. I’m grateful for the lesson I can take from my Malaysian experience. It was my first time here. I’ve not enjoyed just the winning but the support from the people, the different cultures, the different foods, the weather that is similar to some parts of South Africa on the coast so I can handle it. It’s been so welcoming, I’d like to come back.”

Debesay torments Cameron in the Cameron Highlands

The riders at the start of the climb

Mekseb crosses the line in style

Top 3 of stage 4

Jersey leaders after stage 4

Mekseb Debesay in all smiles

CAMERON HIGHLANDS, 25 February 2017 : Dimension Data continued its winning streak with Eritrea’s Mekseb Debesay coming first atop the mythical Cameron Highlands, beating Australia’s Cameron Bayly by the length of a bike while Ryan Gibbons, third on the line only four seconds later, retained the yellow jersey and therefore gave the South African outfit a good chance to become the first team to win three Le Tour de Langkawi in a row after Youcef Reguigui and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg did so in 2015 and 2016.

“This is my first big victory”, reacted Debesay who only joined the WorldTour giants last year. “We rode together with my team-mates all day. The finale was quite hard but I followed some good riders and I outsprinted them. It was always my childhood dream in Africa to become a successful professional cyclist. It’s a dream come true now. I’ve been inspired by my compatriots Daniel Teklehaimanot and Natnael Berhane. They’re my heroes and I want to ride the Grand Tours like them in the same way I did today.”

Bayly of IsoWhey Sports Swisswellness moved up to second overall as he finished right behind Debesay and ahead of a group of nine riders who surge atop the final climb and comprised hot favourites Egan Bernal and Daniel Jaramillo as well as race leader Gibbons. “This is definitely a good result”, Bayly analyzed. “I’m a little bit disappointed to get second and not to win, being so close, but at the end of the day I was just not quick enough for the sprint. There were quite a few attacks before.

The Androni team was really aggressive. Bernal was very strong. I attacked with 1.5km to go. The Dimension Data rider came to wheel. I had to lead the sprint out. It’s good to be second on GC. We’ve got another four stages to go with a few of our riders in the top ten. We’ll try to shake things out, we’re not gonna leave it.”

Gibbons who expected to be in yellow for the last time saved his jersey and became the favourite for the overall classification as he’s got potential to improve his lead throughout the time bonuses in the upcoming sprints. “I’m more shocked than you guys are to still lead the race”, the South African said.

“A group of guys rode away but my team mates kept looking back and saw that I was coming across. Thankfully they didn’t put the pace on. They did a good job making sure that I was still up there. Jacques Janse van Rensburg brought me back to the front a few times. Nothing in my history proved that I could climb that well. This is new for me. I was not bluffing. It’s a surprise for me that I’ve been able to stay up there.”

Stage 5 from Meru Raya to Kuala Kubu Bahru, close to Kuala Lumpur, on a distance of 151.5km, should suit the sprinters.

DIMENSION DATA ON THE HUNT FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED HAT-TRICK AT LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI

Janse Van Rensburg takes Overall in LTdL 2016

The team celebrates at the last stage in Melaka

SHAH ALAM : South Africa’s Dimension Data is the first World Tour team to have signed up for the 22^nd Le Tour de Langkawi set to take place in Malaysia from February 22^nd to March 1^st.

They’ll make their way to South East Asia as defending champions after having won the overall classification twice in a row with Youcef Reguigui and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg.

“In our history that goes over three decades, no team has managed to make a hat trick, so here’s a challenge for them”, Le Tour de Langkawi 2017 CEO Emir Abdul Jalal noted. With two consecutive wins, firstly as MTN-Qhubeka, secondly as Dimension Data, the only African World Tour team mimicked Mapei (with Gabriele Missaglia and Paolo Lanfranchi in 1998-99), Barloworld (Ryan Cox and David George in 2005-06), Diquigiovanni (Ruslan Ivanov and José Serpa in 2008-09) and the same Italian squad renamed Androni (Jonathan Monsalve and José Serpa again in 2011-12).

“Everyone talks about Africa in cycling now but this is nothing new to us in Malaysia”, Emir added. “For the very first Le Tour de Langkawi in 1996, the South African national team was invited. Douglas Ryder, the big boss of Dimension Data now, was part of it. He was one of the star riders of the first few years of the race [5^th overall in 1996 and the King of the Mountains in 1998]. We’re grateful to him that he doesn’t turn his back to Malaysia even though the new World Tour doesn’t leave much room for events like ours to attract the biggest teams.”

Shall Dimension Data make this highly expected hat trick in its seventh straight participation, it will be with a third different cyclist as Reguigui and Janse van Rensburg have not been entered this time around. But the name of the defending champion remains on the start list with Jacques Janse van Rensburg. They aren’t related but the latter is actually the most regular African performer at LTdL in recent years. At the age of 21, racing for Trek-Marco Polo,

he finished sixth overall. He also came 20^th in 2012, 14^th in 2013, 6^th again in 2014

and 9^th in 2015.

“I’ve always loved Le Tour de Langkawi and I keep the dream of winning it alive”, said Jacques Janse van Rensburg who’s chances are increased with Cameron Highlands being the queen stage rather than the grueling climb to Genting Highlands. “The race is now open to more riders to win”, informed Emir.

Dimension Data is likely to amaze with promising neo pros Ryan Gibbons and Ben O’Connor, from South Africa and Australia respectively. Interestingly, last year’s winner was originally on the reserve list, so is Daniel Teklehaimanot this time around. The first Eritrean to have worn a distinctive jersey at the Tour de France with the polka dot in 2015 might be another surprise coming from Africa. The black continent is a serious candidate for a fifth overall victory after Cox, George, Reguigui and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg.

DIMENSION DATA FOR THE 2017 LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:

Nic Dougall, Ryan Gibbons (Rsa), Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa), Ben O’Connor (Aus), Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Jaco Venter (Rsa). Reserve: Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri).

DIMENSION DATA TO DEFEND TITLE AT LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI

The team at LTdL last year

Songezo Jim

SHAH ALAM, 27^th January 2016 : Now a multinational team with a strong European and Australian flavor, Dimension Data will be fully African when they’ll tackle Le Tour de Langkawi for the sixth straight time.

“It was a huge achievement for us to win this race in 2015 and we’re always delighted to come back”, said team manager Douglas Ryder who was himself one of the pioneers as he took part in the very first LTdL with the South African national team in 1996 (5^th overall) and was crowned the King of the Mountains in 1998.

Reguigui won’t be part of the line-up this time around but Malaysian fans will be able to discover Songezo Jim, 25, who completed his first Grand Tour last year with the Vuelta a España and is likely to make its debut at the Tour de France next July.

“It’ll be my first time at Le Tour de Langkawi and in Malaysia”, said Jim (Jim is his family name). “I’m excited to be racing there. I’ve raced in Asia only one time before at the Tour de Korea. I know of Le Tour de Langkawi that there are always a few sprint stages. It’s always a fast race. The Genting stage is very famous but it’s been taken off this year so it’ll make the race more open and more interesting.” 

“We’ll come to Le Tour de Langkawi after we won the race last year, so everybody will be watching us even though we don’t have the defending champion but we don’t know yet who’s gonna be the GC rider in our team. It can be me, it can be Jaco [Venter], it can be Reinhardt [Janse van Rensburg who is also a sprinter and has been entered as a reserve rider]. That will give us more chances to surprise our adversaries. We have a few guys who can climb well in the Cameron Highlands.”

Hailing from Cape Town in South Africa, Jim has already raced in America (Tour of Utah), in northern Europe (Arctic Race of Norway), in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi Tour) and recently for the first time in Australia where the Santos Tour Down Under opened the 2016 season.

“Travelling is part of being a professional cyclist”, he said. “It’s amazing to be able to see the world as we do. However, we don’t do it as tourists. We firstly aim at getting a result for the team. We have to enjoy it, otherwise it would be a too hard job.”

“Le Tour de Langkawi has a worldwide impact”, noted the event’s CEO Emir Abdul Jalal. “Considering the recent huge improvements of Africa on the global map of cycling, we have to invite Dimension Data but we can proudly say that our organization has been the first to welcome African cyclists with an absolute consistency in the past twenty years.

We love to see them back, especially Dimension Data with riders from different African countries. I’m sure they’ll perform again and possibly even better than before as their inclusion into the World Tour has made them stronger with participating to events like the Santos Tour Down Under.”

DIMENSION DATA FOR THE 2016 LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI:

Nic Dougall, Songezo Jim, Johan Van Zyl, Jaco Venter (Rsa), Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa), Mekseb Debesay (Eri). Reserve: Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg (Rsa).

Organised by Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd, the 21st edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from 24 February to 2 March, 2016 is set to cover more than 1,100km over 8 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.