KUALA TERENGGANU – Malaysian rider Harrif Saleh will make history when he participates in his 14th Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) tomorrow.
This feat will make the Terengganu Polygone Cycling Team rider the record holder in terms of appearances for the ProSeries road cycling race.
The Malaysian is currently tied on 13 appearances with Iran’s Ghader Mizbani.
For the record, Malaysians Anuar Manan and Loh Sea Keong both have 12 appearances at the LTdL.
Harrif also holds the record for the most stage wins for a Malaysian rider. He has bagged three wins.
“I don’t know if I can add more stage wins; we will see how the race goes.
“The team is in good shape, and we are motivated because this is the home ground for the team.
“The first stage will start in Terengganu tomorrow, which is my hometown, so I will try my best,” said the 35-year-old at the LTdL official media conference here today.
Also present at the press conference were LTdL first-timers George Jackson (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), and Enrico Zanoncello (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizane).
Jackson comes into the race in great form, having secured three jerseys at the Tour of Taihu Lake in China, and is hoping to continue that momentum in Malaysia.
De Kleijn, nicknamed the “Little Gorilla,” is pleased with the number of sprint stages at the Langkawi race.
“There are a lot of sprint stages here, so of course, we will go for some stage results.
“I think there are maybe one or two stages that go uphill, and we have good riders for that also,” said the Dutchman.
Meanwhile, Zanoncello – who has earned the title of “New Guardini” in reference to the LTdL’s record stage winner – is determined to give Harrif a tough time with his team, Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizane, in great form at Asian competition this season.
“This time we have had a lot of races in Asia, and we won a few stages at Tour Qinghai Lake, Tour Taiwan, and Tour Taihu Lake, so we want to do the same at LTdL,” said the Italian rider.
Meanwhile, Simon Carr from EF Education-EasyPost is looking forward to the mountain stage in Genting Highlands.
“The mountain stage will be decisive, and I want to try to win as many points as possible high up in the general classification,” said the Brit.
Harold Martin Lopez from Astana Qazaqstan is competing in his second LTdL and believes that this will be a really good race for him.
“This year, I hope I can be placed high in the general classification. I want to have a good finish in the LTdL because I have a really good team,” said the Ecuadorian.
The first stage tomorrow will cover a distance of 187.4km, starting in Kerteh and ending in Kuala Terengganu. – September 22, 2023