World class affair at LtdL with 21 teams

All set: Le Tour de Langkawi participants (from left) Mohd Harrif Saleh and Carlos Quintero of Terengganu Inc-TSG Cycling Team; and Louis Meintjes of NTT Pro Cycling Team and Black Quick of St George Continental Cycling Team. — Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: Cyclists from 21 teams, including one Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Team, will be fighting for honours at the 25th Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), making it a world-class race despite earlier fears that the coronavirus outbreak may cast a large shadow over it.

Big names likes former champions – TSG’s Artem Ovechkin, Italian Paolo Lanfranchi and Colombian Jose Serpa – will all be the frontrunners for the yellow jersey in the race. Ovechkin has set his sights to be the only third rider in the race’s history to win the overall crown twice after Lanfranchi who won in 1999 and 2001 and Serpa who took the title in 2009 and 2012.