PUTRAJAYA : WorldTour squad Dimension Data became the first team to win Le Tour de Langkawi on three consecutive editions with three different African riders as neo pro Ryan Gibbons, 22, followed the path of Algeria’s Youcef Reguigui and his compatriot Reinardt Janse van Rensburg from South Africa.

He finished fourth of the conclusive stage in Putrajaya won by Travis McCabe who made it two for Unitedhealthcare after he took stage 2 and regained the points competition as well, throughout the intermediate sprints as he won all three of them.

“We wanted to race hard again today”, McCabe declared. “Typically when the race is hard and there are a few climbs, we can get rid of some heavy sprinters. The sprint came down to the last corner and I had Greg Henderson putting me in perfect position and I jumped at about 300 metres to go. Coming from doing the same job in the WorldTour, he makes my life so much easier! Pretty much all I have to do is to put my hands up. All the guys allowed me to get this win. We had a double goal as we really wanted [Daniel] Jaramillo to take the time bonuses to jump on the podium. He’s got a good kick. So I was not looking at the sprint jersey, I was more looking at the stage win.”

“This was my first time here. I’ll remember the beautiful landscapes of Malaysia. The people were fantastic. That was awesome to see so many people out there cheering us on. I couldn’t ask for a better race to start off the season. I’m really happy that I came and we’ll be back next year.”

“Before coming to Malaysia, I didn’t think I’d be sitting here with the yellow jersey at the end”, said Gibbons who learned “jesi kuning” in bahasa Malaysia during his six days in the lead of LTdL. “The team had a lot of faith in me but to have responsibility to lead in the second race of my first year as a pro, but I couldn’t have imagined the dream coming true this week. It’s been stressful, even having the yellow jersey, being on good form and believing in myself.”

“On the second climb, IsoWhey attacked. But I had Jacques [Janse van Rensburg], our road captain, with me the whole time. He told me to relax and not too worry although I could have gone harder for the intermediate sprints. A group of sixteen riders got fifteen seconds ahead of us in the main climb but we caught them very quickly. After that I knew we should have the jersey for good but this is cycling, anything can happen, a crash or a mechanical. Even going into the last sprint, I touched wheel with my team-mates in a corner.”

“It was a goal to win the last stage as well. I’m disappointed not to have made it but in the last curve I was maybe where I shouldn’t. I was following Pippo [Pozzato] and [Alberto] Cecchin. When I came out, it was way too late. There were five riders up the road. I was able to catch two of them but I was glad to stay up and win yellow and teal.”

Gibbons was the second South African to win the points competition after his mentor Robert Hunter fifteen years ago. “He was the first South African to win a stage in all three Grand Tours”, he continued.

“He’s definitely a role model. I see myself as a very similar rider to him. He was a sprinter but also someone who could go well in small climbs and do all right in time trial. He’s the one who put cycling on the map in South Africa. I do look up to him. He inspired many South Africans.”

“It’s really special to follow his footsteps, also here in Malaysia. If I do half of what he achieved, it would be a successful career for me. He’s been talking to me every day during Le Tour de Langkawi. He has a lot of faith in me as well. Since 2004, he’s believed that I can do a lot. He’s been motivating me this week, which is great. From day 3, he believed I could win the Tour. His support really helped.”

“I’m really ambitious and I’m very hungry”, Gibbons concluded. “I’d be a liar if I’d say I don’t want to win more. It’s been a perfect start. I have to keep on learning. I don’t want to set myself goals that I can’t achieve. Hopefully this is just the beginning. It was my first time in this position. “

“I’ve learned that with winning come the press, the media, the fans… I had never experienced a team work like that. I also learned a lot about sprinting. I’ve only won a stage, I’ve been second, third, fourth and fifth. I don’t look at those as seven losses. I look at them as seven learning experiences. I know what not to do now. I’m grateful for the lesson I can take from my Malaysian experience. It was my first time here. I’ve not enjoyed just the winning but the support from the people, the different cultures, the different foods, the weather that is similar to some parts of South Africa on the coast so I can handle it. It’s been so welcoming, I’d like to come back.”

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 covering 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.

photos by Le Tour de Langkawi 2017

Stage 8 Final Results
Setiawangsa – Putrajaya
01 March 2017
Organisation:
Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd Country: MAS Class: ME 2.HC Issued:01/03/2017, 15:09
Winner’s Time: 2h39’00“ Deadline: 2h58’04“ (12%) Starters: 97 Finishers: 97
Stage Distance:
121.00 kms (75.24 Miles)
Total Distance:
1222.20 kms(760.03 miles)
Stage Speed:
45.66 kph(28.39 mph)
Cumulative Speed:
42.01 kph(26.12 mph)
KBS
General Classification
BSN
Sprints Competition
CellMaxx
Mountains Competition
BMW
Asian Rider Overall
2: Gibbons, Ryan
Team Dimension Data
2: Gibbons, Ryan
Team Dimension Data
101: Ebsen, John Kronborg
Infinite AIS Cycling Team
66: Nakane, Hideto
Nippo – Vini Fantini
Stage Result
Place No UCI ID Nat Name Team Time Deficit
1 16 10008856888 USA McCabe, Travis
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
2 74 10007621958 AUS Giacoppo, Anthony
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 2
h
39
m
00
s
3 63 10008854868 ITA Stacchiotti, Riccardo
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 2
h
39
m
00
s
4 2 10008673804 RSA Gibbons, Ryan
DDD
Team Dimension Data 2
h
39
m
00
s
5 86 10006137858 MAS Mat Amin, Mohd Shahrul
TSG
Terengganu Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
6 55 10005656801 ITA Palini, Andrea
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 2
h
39
m
00
s
7 22 10010084344 ITA Maronese, Marco
BRD
Bardiani CSF 2
h
39
m
00
s
8 21 10006467860 ITA Barbin, Enrico
BRD
Bardiani CSF 2
h
39
m
00
s
9 32 10001661108 ITA Pozzato, Filippo
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 2
h
39
m
00
s
10 6 10007864155 ERI Debesay, Mekseb
DDD
Team Dimension Data 2
h
39
m
00
s
11 61 10007518490 ITA Berlato, Giacomo
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 2
h
39
m
00
s
12 151 10008846481 PHI Felipe, Marcelo
7RP
7 Eleven Roadbike Philippine 2
h
39
m
00
s
13 51 10009584489 COL Bernal Gomez, Egan Arley
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 2
h
39
m
00
s
14 36 10006003876 ITA Cecchin, Alberto
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 2
h
39
m
00
s
15 72 10010996043 AUS Harper, Chris
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 2
h
39
m
00
s
16 42 10006837571 COL Villegas, Juan
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
17 15 10006481095 COL Jaramillo Diez, Daniel A
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
18 66 10007947516 JPN Nakane, Hideto
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 2
h
39
m
00
s
19 71 10007946910 AUS Bayly, Cameron
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 2
h
39
m
00
s
20 45 10010985535 COL Higuita, Sergio
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
21 64 10005480783 JPN Ito, Masakazu
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 2
h
39
m
00
s
22 14 10001643627 NZL Henderson, Greg
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
23 4 10009780513 AUS O’Connor, Ben
DDD
Team Dimension Data 2
h
39
m
00
s
24 24 10009393523 ITA Rota, Lorenzo
BRD
Bardiani CSF 2
h
39
m
00
s
25 41 10008656323 COL Orjuela, Fernando
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
26 76 10006445834 AUS Hucker, Robbie
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 2
h
39
m
00
s
27 142 10052018050 THA Boonratanathanakorn, T
TCC
Thailand Continental Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
28 93 10007988942 KAZ Lukyanov, Dmitriy
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 2
h
39
m
00
s
29 46 10009690987 COL Paredes, Wilmar
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
30 83 10007130086 INA Suryadi, Dadi
TSG
Terengganu Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
31 166 10001140136 COL Nino Corredor, Victor
TSC
Sapura Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
00
s
32 75 10006189186 AUS Roe, Timothy
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 2
h
39
m
00
s
33 56 10008912563 ITA Masnada, Fausto
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 2
h
39
m
00
s
34 3 10005834431 RWA Niyonshuti, Adrien
DDD
Team Dimension Data 2
h
39
m
00
s
35 43 10009143040 COL Suaza Arango, Bernado A
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 2
h
39
m
05
s @
5
s
36 165 10007587404 COL Perez Munoz, Wilmar Jahir
TSC
Sapura Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
05
s @
s/t
37 53 10016277792 COL Sosa Cuervo, Ivan Ramiro
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 2
h
39
m
09
s @
9
s
38 1 10008897712 RSA Dougall, Nick
DDD
Team Dimension Data 2
h
39
m
09
s @
s/t
39 101 10036116316 DEN Ebsen, John Kronborg
IAC
Infinite AIS Cycling Team 2
h
39
m
19
s @
19
s
40 5 10003226141 RSA Van Rensburg, Jacques
DDD
Team Dimension Data 2
h
39
m
38
s @
38
s
41 44 10010985939 COL Sierra, Yecid
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 2
h
39
m
39
s @
39
s
42 17 10007957014 USA Putt, Tanner
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 2
h
41
m
03
s @
2
m
03
s