Scott Sunderland suggests Azizul Hasni Awang could also win at LTdL

Scott Sunderland of IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness wins the opening stage at Kuala Terengganu

Stage 1 Winners

Race Leaders after stage 1

KUALA TERENGGANU, Wednesday, 22 February 2017 : Former keirin rider Scott Sunderland from Australia won stage 1 of the 2017 Le Tour de Langkawi in Kuala Terengganu and thus followed the path of Dutchman Theo Bos who also successfully made the transition from sprinting on the track to sprinting on the road.

He made IsoWhey Sports Swisswellness’ first appearance to LTdL a big coup as he fended off South Africa’s Ryan Gibbons who is sensational recruit for WorldTour giants Dimension Data while Italian rivals Nicolas Marini of Nippo-Vini Fantini and Jakub Mareczko of Willier Triestina surrendered in third and fourth places.

Sunderland was well aware of winning his first pro race [after stage 1 of the UCI 2.2 Tour of Fuzhou in China in 2015] on the homeland of an old competitor of his: Olympic medalist Azizul Hasni Awang. “I know he’s from Terengganu”, the Australian reacted. “He is a great competitor and such a big presence in keirin racing. I’m aware of his fame in Malaysia. Going from track sprint to this event is definitely a lot different when you have to try to get over the hills and adjust to this style of racing. In the keirin you’ve got five or six other guys. On the road, you have to sprint against fourty or fifty riders. It can be a lot more difficult. But Azizul could definitely make the same move and succeed at LTdL as well. He is a crafty rider. He has a lot of weight on his side. Being a smaller rider [than me], he should be able to get over some of these climbs.”

It was a crash marred finale within ten kilometers to go in Kuala Terengganu once Loh Sea Keong, now riding for Thailand Continental Team, was the last man to be reined in. He was earlier accompanied in a 10-man breakaway by Nur Amirul Fakhruddin Mazuki who delivered for hosting team Terengganu TSG as he brought the first King of the Mountains red jersey home.

“Getting the win and the yellow jersey for IsoWhey Sport Swisswellness on our debut here sets up the team for a good Tour and hopefully I’ll get one more stage victory”, Sunderland declared at the post race press conference. “It was a pretty chaotic finale but the team got me ride in a pretty good position. The crash was close to where I was so I was lucky to get through that and be able to finish off the job with the sprint. Such a win gives you the confidence that you can win another stage. That would be fantastic but it’s already amazing to be here in the lead. I’ll try to hold on to the yellow jersey as long as I can, it’s an amazing event.”

Stage 1 of Le Tour de Langkawi brought neo pro Gibbons under the spotlights. “I’m very happy to be on the podium and give something to the team but I’m also very disappointed to be second”, the Dimension Data rider said. “I kind of waited a little bit too late. The crash happened next to me. I think I was the last rider to avoid it. This result gives me hopes for a stage win by the end of this Tour, hopefully tomorrow.”

“My team worked at perfection”, echoed Marini. “[Riccardo] Stacchiotti and [Giacomo] Berlato helped me tremendously. I had a good sprint. I opened it with Mareczko at 200 metres to go but the first two were really stronger. It’s still long way to go and we’ll try again.”

Stage 2 will be the longest of the 22^nd Le Tour de Langkawi, 208km, and also a hard one from Jerteh to Grik where the race last held a stage finish with eventual Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Rinaldo Nocentini won two years after cycling legend Gianni Bugno. 

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.

TOP RIDERS READY TO STRIKE

Filippo Pozzato of Wilier Triestina

Jakub Mareczko of Wilier Triestina

Jacques Janse Van Rensburg from Dimension Data

Egan Bernal from Androni

Anuar Manan TSG looking good for stage wins

KUALA TERENGGANU, Tuesday, 21 February 2017 : Cycling superstar Filippo Pozzato and up and coming sprinter Jakub Mareczko (Willier Triestina), GC contender Jacques Janse van Rensburg (Dimension Data), Colombian prodigy Egan Bernal (Androni Giocattoli) and local hero Anuar Manan (Terengganu TSG) attended the top riders pre-race press conference in Kuala Terengganu ahead of the 22^nd edition of Le Tour de Langkawi due to start in Kuala Berang on Wednesday 22 February.

Anuar Manan: “We’ve been training and taking part in local criteriums for six weeks in Australia under our new coach Jeremy Hunt who’s been a Team Sky rider. The condition is good but other teams have also prepared LTdL very seriously. For the next LTdL, some young Malaysian riders have a good potential for performing but for now, it’s still up to me and my team-mates.”

Jakub Mareczko: “There are many good sprinters on the start line, mostly from Italy with Nicolas Marini from Nippo-Vini Fantini, Marco Benfatto and Andrea Palini of Androni Giocattoli. I also know Scott Sunderland from Australia for racing him in China before. I’ll try to repeat the stage victory I got here last year. We have a strong team for that with Rafael Andriato and Filippo Pozzato to lead me out in the finales.”

Filippo Pozzato: “I’ve wanted to do Le Tour de Langkawi many times but I was always doing Tirreno-Adriatico. Since our team hasn’t been invited to Tirreno-Adriatico, I took the opportunity to come here after the Tour of Oman to get a good condition for Milan-Sanremo. I’d like to go for a stage win myself but we also have a great team to lead Mareczko out in the bunch sprints.”

Jacques Janse van Rensburg: “This is my seventh time taking part in Le Tour de Langkawi. There’s always a nice atmosphere for racing here. We came with an all rounded team for sprinting and riding for GC, which seems to work for our team as we won this race in the past two years. We have an all African team, except from Ben O’Connor who is an Australian. I hope to be able to fight for GC. Cameron Highlands is always a tough climb at the end and that’s where the GC should be decided.”

Egan Bernal: “I’ve trained a lot ahead of this season and I started racing in Argentina with the Vuelta a San Juan. I felt good there, so I want to do well at Le Tour de Langkawi. It’s a good race for me and an important event in my career. Many Colombians have made their fame over here. I’m still very young. I don’t have enough experience yet to be able to tell where and when I’ll be a winner. I want to learn first. I’ve been told that Cameron Highlands isn’t a too hard climb. I hope it’ll be a good one for me.”

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.

POURSEYEDIGOLAKHOUR CREATES HISTORY

Guardini takes the final stage at Dataran Shahbandar

The winners of LTdL 2014

Mirsamad kisses his precious LTdL'14 Challenge Trophy

KUALA TERENGGANU, Saturday 8th March 2014 - Tabriz Petrochemical Team's Mirsamad Pourseyedigolakhourwas today confirmed as Asia's first ever overall winner of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) after the finals stage won by Astana's Andrea Guardini to bring his record of stage wins in the race to 14.

Pourseyedigolakhour celebrated the victory after some hard work by his team to keep his slim 8 seconds lead over second placed Merhawi Kudus of MTN-Qhubeka in the six stages that followed the queen stage of the race in Genting Highlands on the fourth stage.

"I am especially proud to be the first Asian rider to win the overall title in this race. After 19 years it has happened, so this is a big victory for me and for Asian cycling," said Pourseyedigolakhour, who also became the first Asian to win the Genting Highlands stage in LTdL.

"After the fourth stage in Genting, my team had to work really hard to protect the lead, especially in some very long stages that followed. So, I have to thank them."

Lithuania's Aidis Kroupis of the Orica-GreenEDGE team bagged the points classification win after finishing second to Guardini in the bunch sprint at Dataran Shahbandar in Kuala Terengganu to end the race.

Guardini registered his second victory of this year's race, which was also his Astana team's second of the season, to add to his victory in Stage Three from Kampar to Kuala Lumpur and extended his record on a day when four stage winner Theo Bos of Belkin Pro Cycling only strolled home in 58th position, not contesting the bunch sprint.

"This year I would have liked to get more wins, but most of the stages didn't suit my sprints. For me, I prefer to have a long straight to start my sprint at 200 or 250 metres, but this year a lot of stages had a turn at 100 or 50 metres before the finish," said Guardini.

"So those kind of stages suited Bos, who also had a strong team to put him in good positions. Today, when I had a chance in a sprint that suited me, I am happy to have delivered the win.

Irish champion Matt Brammeier of the Synergy-Baku team had already confirmed his mountains classification win after Stage 9 yesterday and was satisfied with the overall performance of the team from Azerbaijan, who made an impact with their continues attacks and with Brammeier's jersey victory.

Another team which made a big impact was South Africa's MTN-Qhubeka, who not only finished as overall team champions ahead of Tabriz Petrochemical, but also introduced the surprise package of the race in 20-year old Eritrean rider Merhawi Kudus,who finished second overall just eight seconds behind Pourseyedigolakhour.

Organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) inassociation with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). The 19th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from February 27 to March 8, 2014 covers a total distance of 1,495.9km over 10 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

* for more LTdL 2014 releases, please go to https://www.facebook.com/pulse.mediacommunications/notes

CHICCHI GETS THE FINAL STAGE VICTORY, ARREDONDO WINS OVERALL

Chicchi takes the win in Dataran Shahbandar

TM Best Malaysian Riders Award - Best Climber Loh Sea Keong, Best Sprinter Anuar Manan, Best Overall Adiq Husainie

Winner of the 18th Edition of LTdL Julian Arredondo kisses the Champion's Trophy

The jersey winners - KOM Red jersey Wang Meiyin, Sprint Blue jersey Francesco Chicchi, Overall GC Yellow jersey Julian Arredondo

KUALA TERENGGANU, Saturday 2 March 2013 - The 10th and final stage victory of the 18th edition of LE Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2013 from Tasik Kenyir to Kuala Terengganu saw a dramatic finale with Vini Fantini-Selle Italia's Francesco Chicchi taking his second stage win and stealing the blue jersey from previous holder Andrea Guardini.

Chicchi's victory denied Guardini, who fell sick yesterday and struggled to the finish of the stage, his chance of an historic hattrick of consecutive points classification victories in LTdL.

The biggest success, however, went to Team Nippo-De Rosa's Julian Arredondo who bagged the overall victory and the MTN-Qhubeka team who completed the overall teams victory at the end of the 10-stage 1,467 kilometre race.

Chicchi's tactical planning enabled him to bag the stage win by sprinting earlier ahead of the finish line to collect the 15 points that saw him overake Guardini in the points classification. Guardini failed to place among the top 10 finishers in the stage.

Chicchi, who won Stage 4 of the race from Tapah to Kapar, beat Synergy-Baku's Rico Rogers to the victory, as Blanco Pro Cycling's Greame Brown made it onto the podium with a third place finish.

"I like this race. There is no better start than to be with a new team which is fantastic and win two stages and the points classification," said 32-year old Chicchi who hails from Camiore, Italy.

Arredondo completed the stage in the safety of the peloton to keep his 1 minute and 15 seconds advantage over Orica-GreenEdge's Pieter Weening with a total time of 34 hiours 53 minutes and 07 seconds.

"I am super happy with this result. This is a sweet success for me after going through so many problems with my visa which limited my racing last year to just five or six races," said Arredondo.

"I am with a small team, but we are like family and my teammates stayed close to me especially in tough moments during the last five stages. It is not a matter of whether we are a Pro Tour team or continental. It was the mentality of winning that was important," said Arredondo.

South Africa's MTN-Qhubeka ensured their three top riders remained in the peloton in the final stage to complete the overall teams classification victory with an advantage of 9 minutes over second placed Tabriz Petrochemical of Iran.

Asia also stood tall with Hengxiang Cycling Team's Wang Meiyin from China winning the overall mountains classificatioin along with his white jersey as the best Asian rider, beating riders from Pro Team Astana Alexandr Dyachenko and Andrey Kashechkin, as well as top Japanese rider Yukiya Arashiro of Team Europcar.

Malaysia's top finisher yesterday was again sprinter Anuar Manan of the Synergy-Baku Cycling Project who finished sixth, while compatriot Harrif Saleh of the Terengganu Cycling Team finished 10th, ending the race without a Malaysian podium finish.

Anuar however did step on the podium for his third place in the points classification behind Chicchi and Guardini.

"I had worked hard to ensure that I was in good form to produce my best results in this race. My preparation was better than last year but this time the level of competition was very high with so many top sprinters and UCI Pro Team riders," said Anuar.

"I challenged them every day and I believe my performance3s had made an impact on the top riders and they were aware of my capabilities."

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).

TWO IN A ROW FOR COQUARD

KUALA BERANG, Friday 1 March 2013 - Team Europcar's Bryan Coquard again proved too strong as he bagged his second consecutive victory in Stage 9 of Le Tour de Langkawi 2013 (LTdL) from Pasir Puteh to Kuala Berang today.

The 20-year old once again found space to launch an explosive sprint to beat Vini Fantini-Selle Italia's Francesco Chicchi and Orica-GreenEdge's veteran Australian sprinter Allan Davis to the finish line of the 123.4km stage in 2 hours 42 minutes 11 seconds.

"To achieve my first win in this race, especially with such a strong field was difficult. But when I found my rhythm, it became easier and today's win has made me very happy," said Coquard.

"My lead-out man Kevin Reza managed to put me on the wheel of Davis with 300m to go, when Greame Brown (Blanco) was in front. After that I found space and managed to sprint to overtake them and all the way to the finish,

"As you can see it is very competitive. Each day the top finishers are not the same ones, so the field has many strong sprinters. But today my team managed to do again what they did yesterday and we won again," added Coquard, winner of the silver medal in the Omnium at the Olympic Games in London last year.

Winner of Stage 4, Chicchi again failed to outdo the young Frenchman Coquard after he was beaten to the line at the final leap when the teams tactical plans went astray with his leadout man Michele Merlo involved in a crash in the final kilometre.

"Merlo had an accident and I had to sprint on my own and I started my sprint in around 25th position, but it was too late because at that point Coquard was too far ahead," said Chicchi, the 2002 under-23 world champion.

Today's stage began as usual with many attacks from the peloton which was then controlled by Vini Fantini, allowing Chicchi to win the first intermediate sprint to close the gap on the points classification leader Andrea Guardini of Astana.

The peloton increased its speed to catch the final breakaway pair of Liu Yilin of Hengxiang and Endra Wijaya of Indonesia, who made their escapoe 35km into the stage and opened up a gap of around 2 minutes before being caught with 20km to go.

Julian Arredondo of Team Nippo-De Rosa maintained his overall lead with a 1 minute and 15 seconds advantage over Orica-GreenEdge's Pieter Weening with the final stage tomorrow remaining.

The challenge for the blue jersey will continue in the final stage tomorrow with Chicchi closing the gap to Guardini to just five points. Guardini has 86 points and Chicchi 81.

Hengxiang's Wang Meiyin confirmed his red jersey victory after the end of the mounbtains competition yesterday.. He repeats his mountains classification victory in the Tour of Qinghai Lake last year.

Meiyin also remains the leader of the Asian riders' classification, which will be confirmed at the end of tomorrow's stage.

South Afirca's MTN-Qhubeka's lead in the teams classification looks unlikely to be threatened in the final stage tomorrow with a nine minutes advantage over second placed Tabriz Petrochemical of Iran.

Once again the locals bit the dust with Anuar Manan (Synergy-Baku Cycling Project) again falling short of his targeted podium spot when he finished 7th and again the best Malaysian finisher.

"I was targeting to win this stage and my teammates worked well for me. But unfortunately in the final kilometre there was a crash in front of me which I had to avoidm which disrupted my momentum. I will try again tomorrow," said Anuar, 26.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian national team's young LTdL debutante Mohd Zulhilmie Afif Ahmad Zamri managed 16th in the stage and admitted he had learned a lot from his first appearance in the race thus far.

"I am getting more used to this level of racing. I used the earlier stages to get myself accustomed to the speed and I watched the professionals closely. I also watched how Anuar Manan competed with them. Today I felt comfortable to bring myself to the front and try my luck in the bunch sprint," said Mohd Zulhilmie, 21.

Stage 10 of LTdL 2013 tomorrow involves a 114.8km route from Tasik Kenyir to Kuala Terengganu with three intermediate sprints, one at Padang Air and two more across the finish line as the peloton does two loops around Kuala Terengganu before the finish.  

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).

GUARDINI ENDS WAIT FOR VICTORY IN DUNGUN

The peloton entering the Dungun, district of Terengganu

Guardini finally gets his win in Dungun, ahead of Chicchi (Vini Fantini) and Kroupis (OGE)

Andrea hounded by the press

the stage winners

The jersey leaders

Astana Team Manager Jaan Kirsipuu celebrates with Andrea

DUNGUN, Wednesday 27 February 2013 - Star sprinter Andrea Guardini finally ended the wait for his first win for his new team Astana in Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2013 when he won a bunch sprint to bag Stage 7 from Kuantan to Dungun today.

This win brought Guardini's record of wins in LTdL to 12 and was also Astana's first victory of the year. It came after the disappointment of losing out in the final sprint to Theo Bos (Blanco Pro Cycling) and Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) in stages before this.

Wearing the sprints classification blue jersey which he took in Stage 4, the victory in Dungun is also the 22nd in 24-year old Guardini's career and also improved his chances of a repeat points classification victory.

Guardini beat Stage 4 winner Francesco Chicchi of his former team Vini Fantini-Selle Italia, which was known as Farnese Vini when he recorded his first 11 LTdL victories in 2011 and last year. Orica-GreenEdge's Aidis Kroupis finished third.  

"IT is difficult if I don't win something early in the season. But this year I had to familiarise myself with a new team and new teammates at Astana. I had entered the Tour Down Under and Tour of Qatar without the condition to challenge for wins, but here it was perfect," said Guardini.

"I'm relieved. The challenge is not that easy with so many strong sprinters here. But today, my teammates Assan Bazayev and Ruslan Tleubayev worked hard and rode very fast to find the space and position for me.

"In the final 500 metres, Tleubayev put me on the wheel of Aidis Kroupis and Allan Davis and I made a sprint from the left to overtake them.

"I also knew that Anuar Manan (Synergy-Baku Cycling Project) was getting closer to me in the points classification after he collected points at the intermediate sprints but I focused on the stage win only.

"I'm very happy with the victory and it goes well with the blue jersey," said Guardini, who captured the attention of the world when he won Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia last year.

The yellow jersey remained with Team Nippo-De Rosa's Julian Arredondo (25 hours 55 minutes 05 seconds), who's team worked hard to prevent any major threat to his lead, particularly Orica-GreenEdge's Pieter Weening, who is one minute and 15 seconds adrift in the general classification.

Henxiang Cycling Team's Wang Meiyin remained the leader of the mountains classification wit 48 points, three more than Arredondo, who did not try to attack at the two king of the mountains hot spots at Kijal and Bukit Anak Dara today. Meiyin also remained the leader of the Asian riders' classification.

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres. 

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).

THE FIGHT FOR YELLOW IS MORE OPEN THAN EVER

KUALA TERENGGANU, WEDNESDAY, 30th JANUARY 2013 - The Terengganu state government were today announced as Yellow jersey sponsor of the 18th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) and it could not have come at a better time.

With five Pro Teams set to line up for the presentation of Le Tour de Langkawi on February 20 on the island paradise where the race was born in 1996, Malaysia’s world class cycling event is entering a new era after four consecutive years of South American domination.

“The fight for the yellow jersey is more open than ever”, said LTdL chief operating officer Emir Abdul Jalal. “Looking at the provisional start list, I can see the names of more than twenty potential winners coming from all five continents.”

In announcing Terengganu's sponsorship which also includes the yellow jersey for the overall leader of the race, Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Ahmad Said said this link with one of the biggest international sporting events held in the country bides well with the state's objectives to promote the Visit Terengganu Year 2013.

"The yellow jersey this time will feature the Visit Terengganu Year 2013 theme prominently and this provides immense branding for the state. This is why the state government has decided to capitalize on this opportunity to promote the state via LTdL, which is recognised as a major international cycling event," said Dato' Seri Ahmad.

"The sponsorship of the yellow jersey means the Visit Terengganu Year 2013 will be highly visible during the race, with the leader of the race attracting a lot of media attention. This will only help provide us with the required impact in meeting the objectives of Visit Terengganu Year 2013.

"Apart from the yellow jersey, the organisers have also given us the opportunity to once again host the final three stages of the race in Terengganu, which provides further promotion for the state, particularly via three hours of continuous broadcast by international and local TV stations. This will ultimately provide numerous economical and promotional benefits to the people of Terengganu.”

"The people will also get to enjoy up close a world class cycling event in their own back yard."

This year's LTdL event is also tied in an agreement with the Eurosport channel, which broadcasts the event to over 600 million television viewers worldwide and this, Dato' Seri Ahmad added, provides a significant boost in not just raising the prestige of the race, but also in providing the impact for promotional and branding activities of sponsors.

Only two previous overall winners will be on the start line: Colombians Freddy Gonzalez who is not exactly a favorite anymore at the age of 38 and Venezuelans Yonathan Monsalve who has not yet won another race since his triumph on Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur two years ago. The latter recently performed four times in the top ten of stages at the Vuelta Tachira in his country and hopes for his move to Vini Fantini, the Italian team previously known as Farnese Vini, to restart his career on a high note.

“After watching Pierre Rolland winning a mountain stage at the Tour de France in the past two years, I’d love to see him giving a great show in Malaysia as well, we know that he’ll come here with an enormous motivation”, Emir Abdul Jalal noted. While Monsalve competed in South America, the Frenchman from Europcar resumed racing last week in Africa as he rode the Tropicale Amissa-Bongo in Gabon in support of overall winner Yohann Gene who won the final stage of LTdL in 2009.

Other potential winners of LTdL completed the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia. Belgian strong man Serge Pauwels of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Australian climbing prodigy Lachlan Morton of Garmin-Sharp, Kazakhstani superstar Andrey Kashechkin of Astana came out of the first World Tour event of the year with the assurance of having the capacity to win LTdL because of the rhythm of racing that not all contenders will have in their legs at the end of February.

“Another big name on the start list is Cameron Meyer”, added Emir Abdul Jalal. “He’s a multiple world champion on the track. He has won the Santos Tour Down Under two years. He’s part of the great Orica-Greenedge team coming to Malaysia with Pieter Weening who is a stage winner at the Tour de France [in 2005] and a former pink jersey wearer at the Giro d’Italia [in 2011]. Australian champion for road race and time trial Luke Durbridge will be racing here as well. It’ll be fantastic! But in Asia, you can’t underestimate the chances of the riders who don’t belong to the World Tour. The win is open to everyone.”

Colombians Victor Nino who finished third last year will return with Taiwanese team RTS. Venezuelans Jackson Rodriguez is the man picked by Androni for moving up from fifth overall last year to the top spot this year. Denmark’s John Ebsen riding for Synergy Baku Cycling Project has the potential to emerge first atop Genting Highlands as he did at the Taiwan KOM challenge in November. South Africa’s Dennis van Niekerk from MTN is no stranger to making the top 5 at LTdL and he’s able to do it again.

Before the favourites for GC take the command after the mountain stages of Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands, the yellow jersey should be contested by the sprinters on the first two days. LTdL stage wins record holder Andrea Guardini has already put his hands up for wearing it again, as he did two years ago, but he knows that he’ll face a fierce competition from the likes of Theo Bos or Graeme Brown (Blanco), Bryan Coquard (Europcar), Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini), Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) or Koldo Fernandez (Garmin-Sharp).

“Let’s have a dream: a rider from Terengganu to wear the Terengganu yellow jersey”, Emir Abdul Jalal imagined. “Anuar Manan and Harrif Salleh are capable of winning a bunch sprint at Le Tour de Langkawi. It would be wonderful if it was the first one.”

The LTdL 2013, which carries the slogan "The Heat is On", will officially begin in Kangar on February 21 and the race comprises 10 stages, covering 1469.7 kilometres.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).

The overall winners of Le Tour de Langkawi:

1996: Damian McDonald (Aus)
1997: Luca Scinto (Ita)
1998: Gabriele Missaglia (Ita)
1999: Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita)
2000: Chris Horner (USA)
2001: Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita)
2002: Hernan Dario Munoz (Col)
2003: Tom Danielson (USA)
2004: Freddy Gonzalez (Col)
2005: Ryan Cox (RSA)
2006: David George (RSA)
2007: Anthony Charteau (Fra)
2008: Ruslan Ivanov (Mol)
2009: Jose Serpa (Col)
2010: Jose Rujano (Ven)
2011: Yonathan Monsalve (Ven)
2012: Jose Serpa (Col)

TCR 2012 DIJANGKA TARIK 1,000 PEMINAT SUKAN BERBASIKAL

7 OGOS 2012, Kuala Terengganu - Seramai 1,000 peserta dijangka akan menyertai  Terengganu Century Ride 2012 (TCR) yang diadakan buat julung kalinya anjuran Pedal Exlorer pada 16 September 2012, bersempena dengan Hari Malaysia dan Tahun Melawat Terengganu 2013.

Acara berbasikal yang dianjurkan dengan kerjasama Kerajaan Negeri Terengganu dan Persatuan Lumba Basikal Terengganu akan membabitkan laluan sejauh 160 kilometer dalam masa lapan jam bermula dan tamat di Dataran Shah Bandar Kuala Terengganu.

"Sehingga kini seramai 500 peserta telah mengesahkan penyertaan terdiri daripada individu, pasukan dan kelab berbasikal dari Singapura dan Malaysia. Kami yakin akan dapat menarik lebih ramai pelumba dan peminat sukan berbasikal ini sebelum tarikh tutup.  "Pelumba-pelumba basikal Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG)  dijangka akan turut menyertai kayuhan kali ini," kata Zulkarnain Shah, Pengarah Acara Terengganu Century Ride 2012.

Selaras dengan Tahun Melawat Terengganu 2013, para peserta TCR 2012 akan menikmati keindahan dan keunikan khazanah negeri Terengganu di beberapa laluan bermula dari Dataran Shah Bandar menuju ke Batu Rakit, Kampung Batu 6, Jalan Sungai Tong, laluan ke Tasik Kenyir melalui Kampung Nenas, Kuala Ping, Kuala Berang, Ajil, Kampung Machang, Kampung Pulau Kerengga, Marang, Kampung Rusila, Pantai Batu Burok sebelum tamat di Dataran Shah Bandar.

Perlumbaan itu akan dibahagikan kepada empat kategori lelaki terbuka 18 tahun ke atas, lelaki veteran 40 hingga 49 tahun, lelaki 50 tahun ke atas dan terbuka wanita 18 tahun ke atas. Setiap pelumba yang berjaya menamatkan kayuhan dalam tempoh yang ditetapkan akan mendapat sijil penyertaan dan pingat.

"Selain itu, sepuluh perserta terawal yang tiba di garisan penamat akan menerima hadiah sebuah trofi," katanya. 

Setiap peserta dikenakan bayaran RM100 dan tarikh tutup adalah pada 30 Ogos ini. Orang ramai yang berminat menyertai acara ini boleh mendapatkan maklumat di laman web www.centuryride.blogspot.com.

Pelancaran Terengganu Century Ride 2012 yang berlangsung hari ini disempurnakan oleh YB Dato’ Rahin bin Dato’ Mohd Said, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pelancongan  Kesenian dan Warisan Terengganu.

"Kami berharap semua pelumba basikal seluruh negara dan negara jiran akan menyertai dan menghangatkan lagi cabaran dalam acara TCR ini. Selain itu, bawalah ahli keluarga dan rakan-rakan untuk sama-sama memeriahkan Karnival TCR sambil menikmati keindahan negeri Terengganu yang kaya dengan pantai dan keindahan alam semula jadi,"   kata YB Dato’ Rahin.

Beliau turut berterima kasih kepada penaja-penaja yang sudi tampil memberi sumbangan dan sokongan seperti Hotel Permai Kuala Terengganu, Ciclista Sdn Bhd, Roda Pantas, Power Bar, Sea Sucker, Ideal Polorized (Amy Ideal Enterprise).

Selain daripada perlumbaan sejauh 160 kilometer itu, Dataran Shah Bandar akan dimeriahkan lagi dengan acara Karnival TCR yang akan bermula pada 12hb  hingga 16hb  September. Antara acara menarik yang akan dipersembahkan termasuk demonstrasi basikal BMX dan MTBX Trail serta pertandingan Fixie Bunny Hop dan Longest Skid selain pameran dan persembahan dari artis tempatan. Watak animasi terkenal BOBOIBOY turut akan memeriahkan karnival itu selain Merdeka Fun Ride kayuhan santai sejauh 55km yang akan diadakan pada 15 September 2012.

SECOND TOUR DE LANGKAWI WIN FOR SERPA, RECORD FOR GUARDINI

4th March 2012, KUALA TERENGGANU - Needing simply finish safely in the main bunch to ensure his overall victory in the race, the Colombian rider José Serpa today did that, lifting the final trophy for the second time since 2009.

The Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela rider rolled across the line with his arms in the air, savouring a success that was forged through stage victories on day five to Pandan Indah and day six to Genting Highlands.

Serpa finished in the main bunch behind the stage winner Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini – Selle Italia), and ended the ten day race thirty seconds clear of his Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela team-mate Jose Rujano, who won the race in 2010.

Niño Victor Corredor (Azad University Iran) was one minute and three seconds back in third, while fourth-placed Alexandr Dyachenko was best Asian rider and helped his Astana squad to best Asian team.

“I am really happy to win the Tour de Langkawi,” Serpa said at the post-race press conference. “This is where I got my first stage victory in 2006 and now I have won the overall general classification of LTdL twice. It is very important for me and also my team. I want to thank them for all the work they have done for me. We are all very happy to bring this victory back home.”

The victory is the latest in a number of successes by a team managed by Gianni Savio. The Italian’s riders have won six times in all, and have become part of the race. They peak specifically for the event, racing and training in South America in order to be fully ready.

Like the Androni Giocattoli riders, Andrea Guardini also prepared for Malaysia by racing elsewhere. After riding well but missing out on wins in the Tour de San Luis, Tour of Qatar and Tour of Oman, things really clicked for him in the Malaysian race. He took a record haul of eleven career stage victories, two more than the previous mark set by the Australian Graeme Brown.

Guardini’s Farnese Vini – Selle Italia team rode well for their leader, hauling back the day’s breakaways in order to ensure a big gallop. Astana captain Alexandre Vinokourov tried to clip away for the stage, but was reeled in before the final sprint.

There, Guardini beat Jacobe Keough (United Healthcare), Sonny Colbrelli (Colnago CSF Inox) plus the others to the line in Kuala Terengganu, also the finishing location for yesterday’s ninth stage.

Like last year, when he took his first professional wins in Malaysia, the race has been a big boost to his confidence. “It is incredible to have won so much, as before the Tour de Langkawi I didn’t win in San Luis, Qatar or Oman,” he said, referring to his previous races in 2012. “That was partly because of bad luck and partly because I had very strong opponents in the sprint.

“On my return to Malaysia, I found a way to succeed again. I’ve got used to it – every time we had a sprint, I won.”

The triumph ensured that he won the blue points jersey, moving well clear of closest rival Valentin Iglinskiy with his successful finishing sprint.

“It has been a very difficult day. We understood from the first kilometre that we would be the only team to have the responsibility for the race,” he said, explaining the work his squad did. “We kept the breakaway in sight. My four helpers have done such a great job that I want to name all of them; Balloni, Rabottini, Bertolini and Benenati.

“They have done a lot of efforts. It was very difficult because of the heat, but they took me the final sprint pretty much where I wanted to be.”

How it played out:

119 riders signed on for the final stage of the 2012 Tour de Langkawi, a 114.8 kilometre race from Tasik Kenyir to Kuala Terengganu. The weather was far sunnier and warmer than recent days, creating an at-times sweltering temperature.

There was a relaxed atmosphere at the start and when Misbah M. Rauf Nur (Malaysia) and Joon Yong Seo (Seoul) attacked right away, they were given some leeway. The duo had a gap of one minute six seconds after seven kilometres; eleven kilometres later, they were a full four minutes 18 seconds ahead of the bunch, with two riders – Shinichi Fukushima (Terengganu Cycling Team) and Sea Keong Loh (OCBC Singapore) - one minute behind and closing up.

The junction was made soon afterwards and with four riders out front, they set about building a strong lead. The gap was four minutes 25 seconds 33 kilometres after the start. This had fallen somewhat to three minutes 45 seconds at the first intermediate sprint, Padang Air (km 47.4), where Seo, Rauf, Loh and Fukushima crossed the line in that order.

Looking to help its rider take another stage, Guardini’s Farnese Vini – Selle Italia squad drove the pace in order to reduce the gap. It had the desired effect; by the time the break crossed the finish line for the first time, the leaders were less than two minutes ahead.

Two intermediate sprints followed, with the first coming on the second passage of the finish line and going to Fukushima. The second occurred to two laps later and there Loh was first.

The bunch was closing up fast and Fukushima plus Joon Yong Seo pushed on ahead in a bid to stay clear. Behind, Vinokourov attacked and got across to Seo; his Astana team-mate Dmitriy Gruzdev and Roman Van Uden (New Zealand) were also present and the four tried to hold off the chasers.



Unhappy with the pace-setting, Vinokuorov attacked alone and was clear heading in the final three kilometres. However he was caught very soon afterwards, making a bunch sprint inevitable. There Guardini showed his class once again, hitting the front inside the final 200 metres and reaching the line comfortably ahead of Keough and Colbrelli.

His success earned him the blue points jersey. Serpa took the mountains classification and his Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela squad was best team.

Asian category prizes went to Dyachenko (best rider) and Astana (best squad).

LTdL 2012 is organised by the National Sports Council as a mark of continuity to the organisation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 2010 and 2011 in collaboration with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation. The race maintains a 2.HC (Hors Classe) status and is recognised and sanctioned by the UCI and UCI Asia Tour.