It’s a shame as Malucelli’s withdrawal due to crash dims rivalry spotlight

Unstoppable: Arvid De Kleijn (fourth from right and below) making a dash to the finish line. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

MELAKA: The much-anticipated rivalry between Arvid De Kleijn and Matteo Malucelli in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) has come to an abrupt end after Malucelli was forced to withdraw from the race.

For De Kleijn, Malucelli’s absence due to a crash, may have opened the door for other riders to challenge for the orange jersey but the former admitted that the race would feel different without his fiercest rival, whose presence had raised the intensity of the competition.

The Italian had held the sprinters classification since the opening stage.

De Kleijn powered to victory in yesterday’s sixth stage from Shah Alam to Port Dickson, his second win of the tour after triumphing in Stage Two from Padang Besar to Kepala Batas.

The result leaves him just one short of Malucelli’s tally of three wins so far.

Last year’s edition also witnessed a thrilling battle between the two, not only going neck and neck for stage victories but also in the fight for the orange jersey, which ultimately went to Malucelli.

“First of all, I want to say that it’s really unfortunate that Matteo was involved in an accident. It’s sad to see that happen,” said De Kleijn.

“I was looking forward to racing against him more, but that’s how it is. I hope he recovers soon. The stage itself was quite chaotic, just as we expected.”

Besides Malucelli, two other riders were also forced to withdraw from the race after being involved in crashes – Vadim Pronsky of Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) and Christian Eiking of Unibet Tietema Rockets.

Malucelli’s absence has reopened the battle for the orange jersey (sprinters’ classification), with Erlend Blikra leading on 45 points, followed by De Kleijn (42) and Manuel Penalver (37).

De Kleijn’s strong finish alongside his teammate Yannis Voisard yesterday also helped the Swiss rider climb up the standings in the fight for the green jersey (overall leader).

Voisard is now just seven seconds behind current leader Joris Delbova, who tops the general classification with a total time of 18’49:29s.

The Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) now has only two stages remaining before it comes to an end.

Today’s Stage Seven covers a distance of 219.9km from Melaka to Medini, the longest route of the race, with 109 riders still in contention.