BENTONG — Stage four of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) proved to be a tough outing for Malaysia, as five of the nation’s riders were forced out of the race today.
Among those who will not continue are sprint specialist Harrif Salleh from the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG), Zulhelmi Zainal (Nusantara Cycling Team), Fahmi Khairul and Izzat Hilmi Halil (Malaysia Pro Cycling), and Azim Aliyas (national team).
They were part of the 20 riders who failed to finish the stage, which covered 131.2km from Kuala Kubu Bahru to Bentong within the designated time.
This was a major setback for Harrif, who had hoped to end his winless streak in his 15th appearance at this race, with his last victory occurring in 2020.
TSG sports director, Saiful Anuar Aziz, explained that one of the main reasons the 36-year-old rider could not finish within the time limit today may be fatigue from the challenging climb in the Cameron Highlands during yesterday’s third stage.
“Based on today’s race plan, the cut-off time was set at 3 hrs and 5 min, but he was 15km behind, riding with the last group of cyclists.
“With Harrif out, we now have to rely on just five riders and stick to the same strategy, trying to make a breakaway to reach the podium.
“We still have four stages to go, and we don’t know which one might bring us some luck,” said Saiful.
Fortunately, Nur Aiman Zariff ensured that the East Coast team did not walk away empty-handed by winning the Best Malaysian Rider title for this stage.
It was not an easy task for Aiman, who is usually a climber for TSG, to take on the role of a sprinter, chasing the world’s top riders at the front.
“Today’s race was fast-paced, with EF Education-EasyPost’s Stefan De Bod being very aggressive, likely trying to improve their overall standings after not being active yesterday.
“The race was quick from start to finish, but the breakaway group was caught just 600m from the finish line. Personally, I’m happy with the result.
“Tomorrow is another climbing stage, and I’ll be giving my best for myself, the team, and the country,” said Aiman.
Tudor Pro Cycling Team’s Arvid De Kleijn, also known as the ‘Little Gorilla’, powered his way to victory in today’s race, crossing the finish line in two hours, 53 min, and 37 sec.
There were no major changes in the three main jerseys, except for the polka dot jersey, with Burgos-BH’s Mario Aparicio taking the King of the Mountains title after dominating the Category 1 climb at GAP.
Max Poole of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL remains in the green jersey as the overall leader, while Matteo Malucelli of JCL Team UKYO retains the orange jersey as the Sprint King.
Malucelli’s teammate, Manabu Ishibashi, continues to wear the white jersey as the Best Asian Rider.
The LTdL race will resume tomorrow with the fifth stage, covering a distance of 167.3km from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka. — October 2, 2024