LANGKAWI: XDS Astana Team sprinter Matteo Malucelli sends an early signal of intent in this year’s Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) after sprinting to victory in the opening stage in Kuah on Sunday (Sept 28).
The 96.7km race around the resort island saw Malucelli, last year’s points classification winner, emerge strongest in a bunch sprint finish with a time of 2 hours and 22 seconds.
Malucelli, who also won the final stage of last year’s LTdL in Bintulu, starts this edition with another victory.
"The weather was perfect today and I made sure not to repeat mistakes from previous years. I began my sprint a bit later heading to the finish line.
"I won the final stage last year and to start this one with a win feels really special," said the 31-year-old after the race.
Erlend Blikra (Uno X Mobility) finishes second, while Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) takes third place.
Malucelli’s victory earns him both the green jersey as the overall leader and the orange jersey as the points classification leader after collecting 15 points.
For Malaysia, Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) rider Nur Aiman Rosli claims the white jersey as the best Asian rider, finishing ahead of George Matsui from Aisan Racing Team.
Another TSG rider, Harrif Saleh, finishes as the third-best Asian rider and is also named the best Asean rider — a new category introduced this year in conjunction with Malaysia’s hosting of the 47th Asean Summit.
The 2.ProSeries race continues on Monday (Sept 29) with the 166.1km second stage from Padang Besar to Kepala Batas, featuring three intermediate sprints in Jitra, Pendang and Sungai Petani.
