The 21st edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) officially kicks off in Kangar today and will go on until next Wednesday, where the peloton will have a chance to put on a show for the fans with one last sprint finish in Malacca.
The first stage is 166km long, starts Kangar and ends in Baling, which consists of three sprint zones in Tunjang, Kuala Nerang and Sik as well as three climb zones in Nami, Gulau and Sik.
This edition of the race will be extremely difficult to predict because of the nature and experience of the riders and teams participating, with Team Astana Pro as major favourites.
The team from Kazakhstan have been geographically familiar with the tracks of Malaysia. Their Italian rider, Andrea Guardini holds the record for most stage wins at LTdL with eighteen stage victories, and now aims to increase that tally when he appears on LTdL arena for the sixth time in a row.
“It will hard to determine my chances at LTdL because the routes change each year,” Guardini said as reported by Utusan Malaysia.
“Furthermore, there are new riders who getting better each day and I am getting older.
“However, I intend to add a couple of victories,” he added, who is nicknamed Mr. Langkawi.
Team Astana Pro will face close competition from Russian team Tinkoff and Dimension Data of South Africa.
There will be three teams from Malaysia this year, which are the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG), NSC-Mycron Team (NSC) and the Malaysian national cycling team.
TSG captain Anuar Manan said that the debut of Nur Amirul with the aid of Shahrul Mat Amin, who are both talented in the climb zone, will help TSG to produce a positive outcome.
“Nur Amirul is an experienced rider in the climb zone because he has won the red jersey as King of the Mountain on two occasions at the 2015 Sharjah Tour and the recent Malaysian Tour,” Anuar said to Utusan Malaysia.
The Malaysian team will not be short of experience either as they are led by the likes of Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi, Amir Mustafa Rusli and Loh Sea Keong.
Team manager Ezral Ezwani Abdul Malik will be counting on his boys to make an impact in the Asian team classification during the one-week competition.
“We cannot set targets like winning the stages. However, I believe the squad has what it takes to make a name for themselves in order to build on from here,” according to The Star.
“Fauzan, Amir and Sea Kong have the experience to strategize for this race whereas Nur Aiman and Azri will be handed an opportunity to gain some experience along the way.
“We hope for respectable finishes throughout the race,” he added.
22 teams of six riders each will start the race in Kangar today.
THE STAGES
Stage 1: Kangar (Perlis)-Baling (Kedah) 165.5km.
Stage 2: Kulim (Kedah)-Penang 159.2km.
Stage 3: Kuala Kangsar (Perak)-Tapah (Perak) 107km.
Stage 4: Dataran MBI (Ipoh, Perak)-Tanah Rata (Cameron Highlands) 129.4km.
Stage 5: Tapah (Perak)-Dataran Merdeka (KL) 149.9km.
Stage 6: Wisma KBS (Putrajaya)-Rembau (Negri Sembilan) 147.6km.
Stage 7: Seremban (Negri Sembilan)-Parit Sulong (Johor) 203.2km.
Stage 8: Batu Pahat (Johor)-Malacca 119.9km.
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