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.

SKYDIVE DUBAI EASE TO TEAM TIME TRIAL WIN

Skydive Dubai team in full speed

Skydive Dubai takes first place

Pishgaman Giant in second place

Team Hong Kong China in third

The jersey leaders after stage 2

PUTRAJAYA: Team Skydive Dubai were again the stand out team in Jelajah Malaysia as they romped to victory in the team time trial event today and keep Francisco Mancebo in a comfortable position at the top of the overall standings.

Andrea Palini, Mancebo, Soufiane Haddi and Sultan Alhammadi completed the 16.5km stage in a time of 19 minutes 43 seconds, riding at an average pace of 50.21kph.

Pishgaman Giant Team and the Hong Kong national team came in second and third as both clocked 20 minutes and three seconds.

Pishgaman were represented by Mahdi Rajabikaboodcheshmeh, Ariyan Behnam, Seyed Moezeddin Seyed Rezai Khourmazi, Hamid Beikkhormizi and Rezavi Naser while Cheung King Lok, Leung Chun Wing, Ko Siu Wai, Leung Ka Yu, Ho Burr and Cheung King Wai did the job for Hong Kong.

Mancebo said he was happy to keep the yellow jersey and is hoping to further lengthen his lead tomorrow.

"I am happy we won again today and kept the yellow jersey. We stuck to our plan, the time trial is never easy," said Mancebo.

"It is our first team time trial in some time and you need experience to do well in this (team time trial). 

"It was quite a fast course as there were only three corners and we averaged about 50km.

"I think we started a bit fast and the comeback in last six, seven KM was hard, but I am glad we still won.

"It is good to add 20 seconds to my lead, the Hong Kong rider (Cheung King Lok) is also strong so I have to be careful with him.

"For tomorrow we are confident to keep the yellow jersey and will work for that, it is definitely our goal."

Mancebo retained the yellow as well as the blue jersey (points classification) with a total time of 3:51:26s and 18 points. King Lok is second, 1:26s behind Mancebo in the GC and also second in the points classification, only a point adrift.

Anuar Manan, Saiful Anuar Mohd Aziz, Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki, Adiq Husainie Othman notched 20:34s to see Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) place sixth in the time trial as the fastest Malaysian team on the day.

With no points in the mountains classification on offer today, Amirul will continue to wear the red jersey tomorrow while Kim Okcheol (Korea National Team) also kept the white jersey (best young rider) with a total time of 3:53:22s.

Amirul said: "My goal tomorrow will be to keep the red jersey. I think am a bit far behind already to think about the GC so that (mountains classification) will be my focus."

"As I have said before, I believe it will be tough to keep as the riders from Pishgaman and Team 7-Eleven Roadbikes Philippines are also good climbers."

The third stage tomorrow, which covers a total distance of 103.3km, will see riders starting in Bangi and moving through Nilai and Salak Tinggi before finishing in Putrajaya.

The Jelajah Malaysia 2015 is scheduled 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.

MANCEBO SETS THE EARLY PACE AT JELAJAH MALAYSIA

Francisco Mancebo takes stage 1

Stage 1 podium

Jersey leaders after stage 1

PUTRAJAYA, 9 December 2015 : Spaniard Francisco Mancebo stormed to an early lead at Jelajah Malaysia with a commanding opening stage performance today which left many riders in awe of his capabilities.

The Skydive Dubai rider took the stage win in a time of three hours, 31 minutes and 55 seconds on a day which saw riders cover 159KM starting from Menara DBKL in the heart of the city through Selayang, Rawang and Kapar before finishing in Putrajaya.

In addition to leading the general classification, Mancebo's performance also places him in the lead in the points classification (blue jersey).

Team Hong Kong's Cheung King Lok (1:03s behind Mancebo) and Marcelo Felipe (Team 7 Eleven Roadbike Philippines) came in second and third on the same time.

The 39-year-old, a former Vuelta a Espana stage winner, however, downplayed his performance.

"It is normal for the first stage to be tough and you could lose the race (tour) on the first day itself if you are not careful," said Mancebo.

"I am happy as I managed a good breakaway with 28 other riders (after Batu Arang) and pulled away on my own at the end to win it. It was not easy but there are also other riders in our team who are capable of winning stages.

"I now have a good gap over the second place rider and I am looking forward to the next stage."

Shaiful Anuar Aziz of Terengganu Cycling Team was the best Malaysian on the day as he finished fifth on 3:33:16s while his teammate Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki did well to lead the climbers classification (red jersey) after winning both mountain points at Bukit Templer and Batu Arang.

Nur Amirul said: "It was good to get the win. It was not something I expected to do as I am still fatigued from competing at the Tour of Sharjah.

"I expect it (King of Mountains classification) to get tougher from here as there are a lot of good climbers, especially from Pishgaman Giant Team."

Putrajaya will host the second stage of Jelajah Malaysia which will see riders competing in the 16.5KM team time trial.

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