Fraser Hill takes over Highlands as route for LTdL

KUALA LUMPUR: Fraser Hill should not be underestimated as the queen stage of this year’s Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), despite the absence of Genting Highlands and Cameron Highlands as climbing routes.

This year’s edition of the race is scheduled to take place from Sept 28-Oct 5, covering eight stages.

LTdL chief executive officer Emir Abdul Jalal said they did not receive approval from the local authorities to include both routes in Genting and Cameron.

However, Emir remains confident that the absence of these two climbing routes will neither diminish the challenge for the riders or status of the race, which remains classified as a UCI Pro Series race.

Fraser Hill will serve as the finishing point for Stage 5 of the race, which starts in Temerloh and covers a distance of 133.7km.

“Although Fraser Hill’s elevation is not as high as a Hors Class climb, it remains a tough challenge. This is what the UCI commissaire informed me,” said Emir.

“We often perceive Genting or Cameron as extremely difficult climbing routes. In fact, we have used Fraser Hill as the queen stage twice before, in 2008 and 2015.

“And last year, during Stage 4, even before reaching Fraser Hill at Gap, several riders were disqualified because they were unaware of the time limit. Riders need strong skills for descending.

“The difficulty level is extraordinary. This year, we will not be climbing Fraser Hill via Kuala Kubu Baru but instead through Bentong, with an elevation gain of 1,121m.

In the previous edition, Genting Highlands was originally set as the finish line for Stage 4 but had to be changed to Bentong at the last minute. However, the route still passed through Fraser Hill.

This decision was made after organisers considered various factors, particularly safety concerns, due to ongoing road and slope improvement works along the Genting Highlands route during the race period.

In addition to the absence of Genting Highlands and Cameron Highlands, this year’s race will also not include a Borneo leg, unlike last year when the competition extended to Miri and Bintulu in Sarawak.

Instead, this year’s eight-stage race will focus solely on Peninsular Malaysia, starting in Langkawi and concluding in Kuala Lumpur. The race will cover 12 states with a total distance of 1,257.8km.