GUNUNG JERAI: Former speed skater turned professional cyclist Lennart Jasch from Tudor Pro Cycling Team etched his name into the history books as the first rider to win the Gunung Jerai stage.
The 25-year-old clocked 3:37:21 over the 145.6km route from Taiping, taking over from Stage 1 winner Matteo Malucelli of XDS Astana Team at the top of the General Classification.
It earned him the King of the Mountains polka dot jersey with 15 points, while his cumulative time of 7:44:04 put him at the top of the general classification.
Jasch was happy to win the Stage 2, and the new summit introduced in the Tour this year.
"Of course super happy. Just one week since I won the last race. Just feels incredible and I need to thank the team so much. They did such an amazing job," said Jasch.
"I was never further back than maybe position three on the climb. It was just such a strong team effort. So yeah, really thank you, team.
Jasch launched his attack with about two kilometres remaining to close down to Abel Balderstone of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, before overtaking the Spaniard in the closing stages to win ahead of Balderstone, who finished second in 3:37:37, while teammate Jan Castellon was third in 3:37:53.
Knowing that Balderstone was also at his limit as he closed the gap, Jasch went "full gas" and used his superior pace to overtake his rival in the final stretch.
"Of course super special, also super special to have three wins in one season as a neo-pro.
"I don't know, maybe you have the statistics how many people won three pro races in one year, but I think there are not so many, so I'm super super happy that I could pull this off and I got all the support from the team," he said.
Asked about his chances of winning the overall title, Jasch remained cautious, saying that there are still six stages left, including two difficult mountain stages and that he preferred to take the race day by day until conclusion.
Meanwhile, Italian sprinter Malucelli retained the blue jersey for the sprinters classification with 17 points, ahead of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling's Riley Pickrell on 12 points and Fernando Gaviria of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA on nine.
In the best Asian rider contest, Aisan Racing Team's Yuhi Todome, a bronze medallist at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games took the white jersey with an overall time of 7:49:04s while Kee Zhe Yie of Terengganu Cycling Team finished as Malaysia's best finisher of the day.
Today's Stage 3 will see the peloton tackle a 189.7km route from Sungai Petani to Kuala Kangsar featuring three sprints in Kuala Ketil, Lawin dan Sauk.
STAGE 2 RESULTS
Top 10 finishers: 1. Lennart Jasch (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling 3’37:21, 2. Abel Balderstone (Esp) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 3’37:37, 3. Jan Cestellon (Esp) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 3’37:53, 4. Jose Manuel Diaz (Esp) Burgos Burpellet-BH 3’38:35, 5. Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets 3’38:26, 6. Eivind Broholt Foughner (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets 3’38:27, 7. Mattia Gaffuri (Ita) Team Picnic PostNL 3’38:34, 8. Mathis Le Berre (Fra) TotalEnergies 3’38:47, 9. Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma 3’38:52, 10. Mathias Bregnhoj (Den) Terengganu Cycling Team 3’38:57.
Orange Jersey (Overall Leader): 1. Lennart Jasch (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling 7’44:04, 2. Abel Balderstone (Esp) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 7’44:24, 3. Jan Cestellon (Esp) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 7’44:42, 4. Jose Manuel Diaz (Esp) Burgos Burpellet-BH 7’45:18, 5. Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets 7’45:19.
Blue Jersey (Best Sprinter): 1. Matteo Malucelli (Ita) XDS-Astana 15 pts, 2. Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure Pro Cycling 12, 3. Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 9.
Polka Dot Jersey (King of Mountain): 1. Lennart Jasch (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling 15 pts, 2. Abel Balderstone (Esp) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 12, 3. Jan Cestellon (Esp) Caja Rural-Suguros RGA 10.
White Jersey (Best Asian Rider): 1. Yuhi Todeme (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 7’49:04, 2. Kee Zhe Yie (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team 7’49:19, 3. Tsen Ren Bao (Mas) St George Continental 7’49:43.
Team General Classification: 1. Unibet Rose RocketsB23’19:11, 2. Bardiani CSF 7 Saber 23’21:11, 3. Tudor Pro Cycling 23’22:20.
