*photos by Le Tour de Langkawi 2017

CAMERON HIGHLANDS : Dimension Data continued its winning streak with Eritrea’s Mekseb Debesay coming first atop the mythical Cameron Highlands, beating Australia’s Cameron Bayly by the length of a bike while Ryan Gibbons, third on the line only four seconds later, retained the yellow jersey and therefore gave the South African outfit a good chance to become the first team to win three Le Tour de Langkawi in a row after Youcef Reguigui and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg did so in 2015 and 2016.

“This is my first big victory”, reacted Debesay who only joined the WorldTour giants last year. “We rode together with my team-mates all day. The finale was quite hard but I followed some good riders and I outsprinted them. It was always my childhood dream in Africa to become a successful professional cyclist. It’s a dream come true now. I’ve been inspired by my compatriots Daniel Teklehaimanot and Natnael Berhane. They’re my heroes and I want to ride the Grand Tours like them in the same way I did today.”

Bayly of IsoWhey Sports Swisswellness moved up to second overall as he finished right behind Debesay and ahead of a group of nine riders who surge atop the final climb and comprised hot favourites Egan Bernal and Daniel Jaramillo as well as race leader Gibbons. “This is definitely a good result”, Bayly analyzed. “I’m a little bit disappointed to get second and not to win, being so close, but at the end of the day I was just not quick enough for the sprint. There were quite a few attacks before.

The Androni team was really aggressive. Bernal was very strong. I attacked with 1.5km to go. The Dimension Data rider came to wheel. I had to lead the sprint out. It’s good to be second on GC. We’ve got another four stages to go with a few of our riders in the top ten. We’ll try to shake things out, we’re not gonna leave it.”

Gibbons who expected to be in yellow for the last time saved his jersey and became the favourite for the overall classification as he’s got potential to improve his lead throughout the time bonuses in the upcoming sprints. “I’m more shocked than you guys are to still lead the race”, the South African said.

“A group of guys rode away but my team mates kept looking back and saw that I was coming across. Thankfully they didn’t put the pace on. They did a good job making sure that I was still up there. Jacques Janse van Rensburg brought me back to the front a few times. Nothing in my history proved that I could climb that well. This is new for me. I was not bluffing. It’s a surprise for me that I’ve been able to stay up there.”

Stage 5 from Meru Raya to Kuala Kubu Bahru, close to Kuala Lumpur, on a distance of 151.5km, should suit the sprinters.

Organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia and managed by Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd, the 22nd edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from 22 February to 1 March, 2017 is set to cover more than 1,200km over 8 stages, the UCI 2.HC (hors category) race featuring again as one of the biggest events on the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

Stage 4 Results
Seri Manjung – Cameron Highlands
25 February 2017
Organisation:
Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd Country: MAS Class: ME 2.HC Issued:25/02/2017, 15:35
Winner’s Time: 4h37’49“ Deadline: 5h33’22“ (20%) Starters: 108 Finishers: 108
Stage Distance:
174.40 kms (108.45 Miles)
Total Distance:
625.30 kms(388.84 miles)
Stage Speed:
37.67 kph(23.42 mph)
Cumulative Speed:
40.51 kph(25.19 mph)
Disqualified: 1
KBS
General Classification
BSN
Sprints Competition
CellMaxx
Mountains Competition
BMW
Asian Rider Overall
2: Gibbons, Ryan
Team Dimension Data
73: Sunderland, Scott
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness
101: Ebsen, John Kronborg
Infinite AIS Cycling Team
91: Gidich, Yevgeniy
Vino Astana Motors
Stage Result
Place No UCI ID Nat Name Team Time Deficit
1 6 10007864155 ERI Debesay, Mekseb
DDD
Team Dimension Data 4
h
37
m
49
s
2 71 10007946910 AUS Bayly, Cameron
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 4
h
37
m
49
s
3 2 10008673804 RSA Gibbons, Ryan
DDD
Team Dimension Data 4
h
37
m
53
s @
4
s
4 91 10009816077 KAZ Gidich, Yevgeniy
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
5 36 10006003876 ITA Cecchin, Alberto
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
6 4 10009780513 AUS O’Connor, Ben
DDD
Team Dimension Data 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
7 72 10010996043 AUS Harper, Chris
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
8 51 10009584489 COL Bernal Gomez, Egan Arley
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
9 15 10006481095 COL Jaramillo Diez, Daniel A
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
10 75 10006189186 AUS Roe, Timothy
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
11 45 10010985535 COL Higuita, Sergio
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 4
h
37
m
53
s @
s/t
12 165 10007587404 COL Perez Munoz, Wilmar Jahir
TSC
Sapura Cycling Team 4
h
37
m
57
s @
8
s
13 41 10008656323 COL Orjuela, Fernando
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 4
h
38
m
00
s @
11
s
14 166 10001140136 COL Nino Corredor, Victor
TSC
Sapura Cycling Team 4
h
38
m
00
s @
s/t
15 46 10009690987 COL Paredes, Wilmar
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 4
h
38
m
03
s @
14
s
16 5 10003226141 RSA Van Rensburg, Jacques
DDD
Team Dimension Data 4
h
38
m
08
s @
19
s
17 35 10007733914 ITA Mosca, Jacopo
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 4
h
38
m
11
s @
22
s
18 66 10007947516 JPN Nakane, Hideto
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 4
h
38
m
26
s @
37
s
19 102 10027990847 HKG Yeung, Ying Hon Ronald
IAC
Infinite AIS Cycling Team 4
h
38
m
30
s @
41
s
20 101 10036116316 DEN Ebsen, John Kronborg
IAC
Infinite AIS Cycling Team 4
h
38
m
30
s @
s/t
21 43 10009143040 COL Suaza Arango, Bernado A
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 4
h
38
m
30
s @
s/t
22 76 10006445834 AUS Hucker, Robbie
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 4
h
38
m
30
s @
s/t
23 21 10006467860 ITA Barbin, Enrico
BRD
Bardiani CSF 4
h
38
m
30
s @
s/t
24 53 10016277792 COL Sosa Cuervo, Ivan Ramiro
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 4
h
38
m
30
s @
s/t
25 44 10010985939 COL Sierra, Yecid
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 4
h
38
m
43
s @
54
s
26 56 10008912563 ITA Masnada, Fausto
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 4
h
38
m
51
s @
1
m
02
s
27 151 10008846481 PHI Felipe, Marcelo
7RP
7 Eleven Roadbike Philippine 4
h
38
m
51
s @
s/t
28 112 10007574872 JPN Hayakawa, Tomohiro
AIS
Aisan Racing Team 4
h
39
m
17
s @
1
m
28
s
29 92 10009385742 KAZ Astafyev, Stepan
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 4
h
39
m
17
s @
s/t
30 93 10007988942 KAZ Lukyanov, Dmitriy
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 4
h
39
m
17
s @
s/t
31 64 10005480783 JPN Ito, Masakazu
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 4
h
39
m
17
s @
s/t
32 83 10007130086 INA Suryadi, Dadi
TSG
Terengganu Cycling Team 4
h
39
m
17
s @
s/t
33 3 10005834431 RWA Niyonshuti, Adrien
DDD
Team Dimension Data 4
h
40
m
29
s @
2
m
40
s
34 164 10009060285 INA Cahyadi, Aiman
TSC
Sapura Cycling Team 4
h
40
m
29
s @
s/t
35 141 10006079153 THA Saiudomsin, Phuchong
TCC
Thailand Continental Cycling Team 4
h
40
m
29
s @
s/t
36 32 10001661108 ITA Pozzato, Filippo
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 4
h
41
m
39
s @
3
m
50
s
37 146 10004842001 MAS Loh, Sea Keong
TCC
Thailand Continental Cycling Team 4
h
42
m
27
s @
4
m
38
s
38 84 10050091992 MAS Mazuki, Nur Amirull Fakhruddin
TSG
Terengganu Cycling Team 4
h
42
m
27
s @
s/t
39 142 10052018050 THA Boonratanathanakorn, T
TCC
Thailand Continental Cycling Team 4
h
42
m
27
s @
s/t
40 74 10007621958 AUS Giacoppo, Anthony
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 4
h
42
m
27
s @
s/t
41 174 10050285891 CHN Shi, Hang
MSS
Giant Cycling Team 4
h
42
m
49
s @
5
m
00
s

Stage 5 Rider List
Meru Raya – Kuala Kubu Bharu
26 February 2017
Issued: 25/02/2017 15:42
Team Dimension Data DDD
DS: Cookson Oliver
1 Dougall, Nick
@
17
m
13
s
2 Gibbons, Ryan
@
nil
3 Niyonshuti, Adrien
@
3
m
25
s
4 O’Connor, Ben
@
21
s
5 Van Rensburg, Jacques
@
15
m
12
s
6 Debesay, Mekseb
@
21
s
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team UHC
DS: Redant Hendrik
11 Alzate Escobar, Carlos E
@
9
m
04
s
12 Hegyvary, Adrian
@
43
m
14
s
14 Henderson, Greg
@
9
m
06
s
15 Jaramillo Diez, Daniel A
@
21
s
16 McCabe, Travis
@
7
m
24
s
17 Putt, Tanner
@
13
m
12
s
Bardiani CSF BRD
DS: Zanatta Stefano
21 Barbin, Enrico
@
57
s
22 Maronese, Marco
@
23
m
11
s
23 Pacinotti, Niccolo
@
12
m
44
s
24 Rota, Lorenzo
@
11
m
32
s
25 Simion, Paolo
@
43
m
35
s
Team Wilier Triestina WIL
DS: Amoriello Luca
31 Mareczko, Jakub
@
41
m
22
s
32 Pozzato, Filippo
@
4
m
01
s
33 Andriato, Rafael
@
13
m
12
s
34 Fonzi, Giuseppe
@
44
m
06
s
35 Mosca, Jacopo
@
50
s
36 Cecchin, Alberto
@
15
s
Manzana Postobon Team MZN
DS: Vargas, Oscar
41 Orjuela, Fernando
@
28
s
42 Villegas, Juan
@
38
m
45
s
43 Suaza Arango, Bernado A
@
58
s
44 Sierra, Yecid
@
3
m
05
s
45 Higuita, Sergio
@
22
m
48
s
46 Paredes, Wilmar
@
1
m
44
s
Androni Giocattoli ANS
DS: Chuela Giampaolo
51 Bernal Gomez, Egan Arley
@
21
s
52 Benfatto, Marco
@
41
m
32
s
53 Sosa Cuervo, Ivan Ramiro
@
58
s
55 Palini, Andrea
@
49
m
46
s
56 Masnada, Fausto
@
1
m
19
s
Nippo – Vini Fantini NIP
DS: Fukushima, Shinichi
61 Berlato, Giacomo
@
37
m
39
s
62 Marini, Nicolas
@
56
m
42
s
63 Stacchiotti, Riccardo
@
14
m
09
s
>64 Ito, Masakazu
@
5
m
47
s
>65 Kobayashi, Marino
@
48
m
08
s
>66 Nakane, Hideto
@
54
s
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness IWS
DS: Christie Johnston Andrew
71 Bayly, Cameron
@
11
s
72 Harper, Chris
@
21
s
73 Sunderland, Scott
@
41
m
16
s
74 Giacoppo, Anthony
@
27
m
22
s
75 Roe, Timothy
@
21
s
76 Hucker, Robbie
@
58
s
Terengganu Cycling Team TSG
DS: Jeremy Hunt
>81 Manan, Anuar
@
50
m
27
s
>83 Suryadi, Dadi
@
2
m
44
s
>84 Mazuki, Nur Amirull Fakhruddin
@
29
m
01
s
>85 Saleh, Mohd Zamri
@
42
m
05
s
>86 Mat Amin, Mohd Shahrul
@
7
m
40
s
Vino Astana Motors VAM
DS: Sergey Danniker
>91 Gidich, Yevgeniy
@
17
s
>92 Astafyev, Stepan
@
24
m
06
s
>93 Lukyanov, Dmitriy
@
1
m
45
s
>94 Voropayev, Taras
@
28
m
07
s
>95 Vlassenko, Sergey
@
5
m
17
s
>96 Zhukenov, Aspan
@
43
m
05
s
Infinite AIS Cycling Team IAC
DS: Duclos Sebastien
101 Ebsen, John Kronborg
@
2
m
41
s
>102 Yeung, Ying Hon Ronald
@
2
m
27
s
>103 Changpad, Kritsada
@
32
m
09
s
>104 Nonthichan, Khunakorn
@
17
m
35
s
>105 Seanaumnuayphon, Tanaphon
@
45
m
19
s
>106 Othman, M. Afiq Huznie
@
44
m
11
s
Aisan Racing Team AIS
DS: Beppu Takumi
>111 Komori, Ryohei
@
42
m
23
s
>112 Hayakawa, Tomohiro
@
1
m
45
s
>113 Sumiyoshi, Kota
@
42
m
47
s
>114 Kuroeda, Shiki
@
36
m
32
s
>116 Watanabe, Shotaro
@
36
m
52
s
KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling KSP
DS: Lee Byung Ii
>122 Seo, Joonyong
@
13
m
12
s
>123 Choi, Seungwoo
@
35
m
37
s
>124 Kang, Sukho
@
42
m
42
s
>125 Kim, Daeyeon
@
10
m
05
s
>126 Cho, Haesung
@
32
m
17
s
Keyi Look Cycling Team KYL
DS: Han Feng
>131 Huang, En
@
48
m
26
s
>132 Wang, Xin
@
28
m
57
s
>133 Zhang, Shijin
@
44
m
36
s
>134 Yang, Siyu
@
10
m
02
s
>135 Shi, Yahui
@
46
m
42
s
>136 Ayazbayev, Maxat
@
21
m
46
s
Thailand Continental Cycling Team TCC
DS: Kasiyaphat,Wisut
>141 Saiudomsin, Phuchong
@
25
m
24
s
>142 Boonratanathanakorn, Thurakit
@
28
m
49
s
>143 Liphongyu, Navuti
@
35
m
48
s
>144 Sanikwathi, Thanawut
@
44
m
15
s
>146 Loh, Sea Keong
@
12
m
32
s
7 Eleven Roadbike Philippine 7RP
DS: Rodriguez Ric
>151 Felipe, Marcelo
@
2
m
16
s
>152 Martin, Nelson
@
23
m
15
s
153 Ewart, Jesse James
@
6
m
53
s
>155 Perez, Dominic
@
37
m
57
s
>156 Martin, Bonjoe
@
40
m
42
s
Sapura Cycling Team TSC
DS: Escobar Roure Sergi Oscar
>161 Mohd Bakri, Sofian Nabil
@
46
m
59
s
>162 Zakaria, Akmal Hakim
@
45
m
14
s
>163 Abd Halil, M. Izzat Hilmi
@
49
m
50
s
>164 Cahyadi, Aiman
@
26
m
32
s
165 Perez Munoz, Wilmar Jahir
@
1
m
49
s
166 Nino Corredor, Victor
@
1
m
38
s
Giant Cycling Team MSS
DS: Song Guoqiang
>171 Chen, Zhiwen
@
13
m
35
s
>172 Deng, Penghai
@
6
m
30
s
>173 Gu, Tianhao
@
35
m
57
s
>174 Shi, Hang
@
7
m
34
s
>175 Li, Xiang Yuan
@
45
m
33
s
>176 Liu, Haiwang
@
40
m
14
s
Malaysia National Team MAS
DS: Omar, Saad
>181 Ahmad Kamal, M. Ameen
@
17
m
49
s
>182 Ahmad Kamal, M Ameer
@
13
m
30
s
>183 Zulkiflie, Nik Mohd Azwan
@
7
m
48
s
>184 Mohd Zariff, M. Nur Aiman
@
9
m
42
s
>185 Lakasek, Irwandie
@
42
m
49
s
>186 Mohd Zamri, Eiman Firdaus
@
47
m
13
s
107 Riders.