GERIK : American outfit Unitedhealthcare continued its winning streak at Le Tour de Langkawi with Travis McCabe outsprinting Filippo Pozzato and Ryan Gibbons who became the new race leader on the slightly downhill finish in Gerik in the state of Perak in northern Malaysia. They previously won a stage in 2014 with Bradley White and in 2016 with John Murphy.

Exactly like Murphy one year ago, McCabe lined up at LTdL fresh from a stage win at the Herald Sun Tour in Australia. “We came here with the ambition to win”, the American sprinter said at the post-race press conference. “We really wanted to work on the lead out train that we have. I wasn’t trying to fill the shoes of Murphy but it’s great to do the same as him. For me, today, it was all about patience. We showed yesterday that we had the lead out train and the power to take me to the line but I made a mistake by going way too early. Today I went into a small break before the category 1 climb to make it easier when Manzana really hit it on the climb.”

It was a long but eventful day of racing from the East Coast to the jungle via the Titiwangsa Range. It started with a crash involving Pozzato and taking Terengganu’s sprinter Harrif Saleh out of the race as he hit a rock. 49 kilometres were covered in the first hour, making it impossible for anyone to escape from the peloton but a group of 16 riders eventually rode away but the presence of the likes of Jacques Janse van Rensburg (Dimension Data), Bernardo Suaza (Manzana-Postobon) and Robbie Hucker (IsoWhey Sports Swisswellness) forced Androni Giocattoli to chase. Attracted by the King of the Mountains competition after losing hopes of winning the overall classification after a crash in stage 1, John Ebsen (Infinite AIS) went on his own 90km before the finish in order to score important points atop Titiwangsa. The selective terrain reduced the bunch to fifty riders only.

Italy’s Pozzato was close to add his name to the record of stage winners at Gerik after his prestigious compatriots Gianni Bugno in 1997 and Rinaldo Nocentini in 1999 but McCabe outclassed him at the very end of a tight finish. “My day started with a crash while I was in the middle of road at the back of the peloton in order to not risk anything”, Pozzato explained.

“But someone bumped into me after losing control of his handlebar and I fell on my face. My head was shocked by the crash but my legs were going much better than yesterday after the traveling. In the finale I wanted to anticipate the sprint because I’m not as fast as these guys.

But the Unitedhealthcare riders have done a great job as they rode strongly from 1.2km to the end. There was no space for me to attack. When they opened it for their sprinter, I exited on the right side of the road. I hesitated a bit but at the end he was faster than me. It’s a pity because I would have liked to break the ice and take a first victory this year, especially for the team. They need some results after the good work done since the beginning of the year. We’ll try again.”

Third on the line, Gibbons took over from Scott Sunderland in the lead of the overall ranking. “I had a bike change due to a mechanical at about 60km to go”, the South African revealed. “It had a 53 on and I couldn’t get it down to the 11 [gear]. I had a perfect lead out. I thought it was no problem to come round him but I had no speed. I’m disappointed not to win but I’m happy to be in the yellow jersey. It sounds like an excuse but I think I’m quicker than these guys and I want to prove it in the coming days.”

Stage 3 is expected to be a good one for the sprinters, being relatively short (118km) from Serdang to Pantai Remis.

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.

*photos by Le Tour de Langkawi 2017

Stage 2 Results
Jerteh – Gerik
23 February 2017
Organisation:
Ciclista Sports Sdn Bhd Country: MAS Class: ME 2.HC Issued:23/02/2017, 16:04
Winner’s Time: 5h04’41“ Deadline: 5h41’14“ (12%) Starters: 114 Finishers: 110
Stage Distance:
208.10 kms (129.41 Miles)
Total Distance:
332.90 kms(207.01 miles)
Stage Speed:
40.98 kph(25.48 mph)
Cumulative Speed:
41.66 kph(25.91 mph)
Did Not Finish: 4 Finished after deadline: 2
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
Wearer: 16: McCabe, Travis
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team
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 16 10008856888 USA McCabe, Travis
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
2 32 10001661108 ITA Pozzato, Filippo
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 5
h
04
m
41
s
3 2 10008673804 RSA Gibbons, Ryan
DDD
Team Dimension Data 5
h
04
m
41
s
4 36 10006003876 ITA Cecchin, Alberto
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 5
h
04
m
41
s
5 91 10009816077 KAZ Gidich, Yevgeniy
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 5
h
04
m
41
s
6 22 10010084344 ITA Maronese, Marco
BRD
Bardiani CSF 5
h
04
m
41
s
7 63 10008854868 ITA Stacchiotti, Riccardo
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 5
h
04
m
41
s
8 33 10004658812 BRA Andriato, Rafael
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 5
h
04
m
41
s
9 71 10007946910 AUS Bayly, Cameron
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 5
h
04
m
41
s
10 86 10006137858 MAS Mat Amin, Mohd Shahrul
TSG
Terengganu Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
11 46 10009690987 COL Paredes, Wilmar
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
12 17 10007957014 USA Putt, Tanner
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
13 182 10010208525 MAS Ahmad Kamal, M Ameer
MAS
Malaysia National Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
14 171 10050281851 CHN Chen, Zhiwen
MSS
Giant Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
15 151 10008846481 PHI Felipe, Marcelo
7RP
7 Eleven Roadbike Philippine 5
h
04
m
41
s
16 95 10009385540 KAZ Vlassenko, Sergey
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 5
h
04
m
41
s
17 122 10004872313 KOR Seo, Joonyong
KSP
KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling 5
h
04
m
41
s
18 72 10010996043 AUS Harper, Chris
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 5
h
04
m
41
s
19 21 10006467860 ITA Barbin, Enrico
BRD
Bardiani CSF 5
h
04
m
41
s
20 6 10007864155 ERI Debesay, Mekseb
DDD
Team Dimension Data 5
h
04
m
41
s
21 66 10007947516 JPN Nakane, Hideto
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 5
h
04
m
41
s
22 172 10050282659 CHN Deng, Penghai
MSS
Giant Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
23 136 10006877987 KAZ Ayazbayev, Maxat
KYL
Keyi Look Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
24 76 10006445834 AUS Hucker, Robbie
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 5
h
04
m
41
s
25 41 10008656323 COL Orjuela, Fernando
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
26 15 10006481095 COL Jaramillo Diez, Daniel A
UHC
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
27 51 10009584489 COL Bernal Gomez, Egan Arley
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 5
h
04
m
41
s
28 35 10007733914 ITA Mosca, Jacopo
WIL
Team Wilier Triestina 5
h
04
m
41
s
29 112 10007574872 JPN Hayakawa, Tomohiro
AIS
Aisan Racing Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
30 75 10006189186 AUS Roe, Timothy
IWS
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness 5
h
04
m
41
s
31 43 10009143040 COL Suaza Arango, Bernado A
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
32 53 10016277792 COL Sosa Cuervo, Ivan Ramiro
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 5
h
04
m
41
s
33 56 10008912563 ITA Masnada, Fausto
ANS
Androni Giocattoli 5
h
04
m
41
s
34 4 10009780513 AUS O’Connor, Ben
DDD
Team Dimension Data 5
h
04
m
41
s
35 83 10007130086 INA Suryadi, Dadi
TSG
Terengganu Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
36 44 10010985939 COL Sierra, Yecid
MZN
Manzana Postobon Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
37 174 10050285891 CHN Shi, Hang
MSS
Giant Cycling Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
38 183 10049093195 MAS Zulkiflie, Nik Mohd Azwan
MAS
Malaysia National Team 5
h
04
m
41
s
39 64 10005480783 JPN Ito, Masakazu
NIP
Nippo – Vini Fantini 5
h
04
m
41
s
40 93 10007988942 KAZ Lukyanov, Dmitriy
VAM
Vino Astana Motors 5
h
04
m
41
s

Stage 3 Rider List
Serdang – Pantai Remis
24 February 2017
Issued: 23/02/2017 16:37
Team Dimension Data DDD
DS: Cookson Oliver
1 Dougall, Nick
@
3
m
00
s
2 Gibbons, Ryan
@
nil
3 Niyonshuti, Adrien
@
45
s
4 O’Connor, Ben
@
17
s
5 Van Rensburg, Jacques
@
12
m
23
s
6 Debesay, Mekseb
@
31
s
UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team UHC
DS: Redant Hendrik
11 Alzate Escobar, Carlos E
@
52
s
12 Hegyvary, Adrian
@
24
m
10
s
14 Henderson, Greg
@
33
s
15 Jaramillo Diez, Daniel A
@
17
s
16 McCabe, Travis
@
3
s
17 Putt, Tanner
@
17
s
Bardiani CSF BRD
DS: Zanatta Stefano
21 Barbin, Enrico
@
16
s
22 Maronese, Marco
@
4
m
19
s
23 Pacinotti, Niccolo
@
1
m
30
s
24 Rota, Lorenzo
@
49
s
25 Simion, Paolo
@
22
m
44
s
Team Wilier Triestina WIL
DS: Amoriello Luca
31 Mareczko, Jakub
@
22
m
40
s
32 Pozzato, Filippo
@
11
s
33 Andriato, Rafael
@
17
s
34 Fonzi, Giuseppe
@
22
m
44
s
35 Mosca, Jacopo
@
28
s
36 Cecchin, Alberto
@
11
s
Manzana Postobon Team MZN
DS: Vargas, Oscar
41 Orjuela, Fernando
@
17
s
42 Villegas, Juan
@
18
m
32
s
43 Suaza Arango, Bernado A
@
17
s
44 Sierra, Yecid
@
1
m
30
s
45 Higuita, Sergio
@
22
m
44
s
46 Paredes, Wilmar
@
1
m
30
s
Androni Giocattoli ANS
DS: Chuela Giampaolo
51 Bernal Gomez, Egan Arley
@
17
s
52 Benfatto, Marco
@
22
m
40
s
53 Sosa Cuervo, Ivan Ramiro
@
17
s
55 Palini, Andrea
@
29
m
41
s
56 Masnada, Fausto
@
17
s
Nippo – Vini Fantini NIP
DS: Fukushima, Shinichi
61 Berlato, Giacomo
@
23
m
16
s
62 Marini, Nicolas
@
22
m
36
s
63 Stacchiotti, Riccardo
@
17
s
>64 Ito, Masakazu
@
4
m
19
s
>65 Kobayashi, Marino
@
26
m
46
s
>66 Nakane, Hideto
@
17
s
Isowhey Sports Swisswellness IWS
DS: Christie Johnston Andrew
71 Bayly, Cameron
@
17
s
72 Harper, Chris
@
17
s
73 Sunderland, Scott
@
22
m
30
s
74 Giacoppo, Anthony
@
22
m
44
s
75 Roe, Timothy
@
17
s
76 Hucker, Robbie
@
17
s
Terengganu Cycling Team TSG
DS: Jeremy Hunt
>81 Manan, Anuar
@
31
m
35
s
>83 Suryadi, Dadi
@
1
m
16
s
>84 Mazuki, Nur Amirull Fakhruddin
@
23
m
54
s
>85 Saleh, Mohd Zamri
@
23
m
17
s
>86 Mat Amin, Mohd Shahrul
@
1
m
22
s
Vino Astana Motors VAM
DS: Sergey Danniker
>91 Gidich, Yevgeniy
@
13
s
>92 Astafyev, Stepan
@
22
m
44
s
>93 Lukyanov, Dmitriy
@
17
s
>94 Voropayev, Taras
@
23
m
07
s
>95 Vlassenko, Sergey
@
17
s
>96 Zhukenov, Aspan
@
23
m
52
s
Infinite AIS Cycling Team IAC
DS: Duclos Sebastien
101 Ebsen, John Kronborg
@
1
m
46
s
>102 Yeung, Ying Hon Ronald
@
1
m
46
s
>103 Changpad, Kritsada
@
23
m
57
s
>104 Nonthichan, Khunakorn
@
9
m
23
s
>105 Seanaumnuayphon, Tanaphon
@
25
m
50
s
>106 Othman, M. Afiq Huznie
@
23
m
52
s
Aisan Racing Team AIS
DS: Beppu Takumi
>111 Komori, Ryohei
@
23
m
03
s
>112 Hayakawa, Tomohiro
@
17
s
>113 Sumiyoshi, Kota
@
23
m
57
s
>114 Kuroeda, Shiki
@
22
m
40
s
>116 Watanabe, Shotaro
@
23
m
00
s
KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling KSP
DS: Lee Byung Ii
>121 Park, Sungbaek
@
23
m
48
s
>122 Seo, Joonyong
@
1
m
30
s
>123 Choi, Seungwoo
@
23
m
57
s
>124 Kang, Sukho
@
23
m
05
s
>125 Kim, Daeyeon
@
1
m
53
s
>126 Cho, Haesung
@
23
m
44
s
Keyi Look Cycling Team KYL
DS: Han Feng
>131 Huang, En
@
26
m
46
s
>132 Wang, Xin
@
23
m
57
s
>133 Zhang, Shijin
@
25
m
33
s
>134 Yang, Siyu
@
1
m
30
s
>135 Shi, Yahui
@
27
m
50
s
>136 Ayazbayev, Maxat
@
1
m
24
s
Thailand Continental Cycling Team TCC
DS: Kasiyaphat,Wisut
>141 Saiudomsin, Phuchong
@
22
m
44
s
>142 Boonratanathanakorn, Thurakit
@
23
m
57
s
>143 Liphongyu, Navuti
@
23
m
57
s
>144 Sanikwathi, Thanawut
@
25
m
23
s
>146 Loh, Sea Keong
@
6
m
03
s
7 Eleven Roadbike Philippine 7RP
DS: Rodriguez Ric
>151 Felipe, Marcelo
@
1
m
14
s
>152 Martin, Nelson
@
9
m
23
s
153 Ewart, Jesse James
@
1
m
53
s
>155 Perez, Dominic
@
23
m
57
s
>156 Martin, Bonjoe
@
29
m
57
s
Sapura Cycling Team TSC
DS: Escobar Roure Sergi Oscar
>161 Mohd Bakri, Sofian Nabil
@
28
m
07
s
>162 Zakaria, Akmal Hakim
@
26
m
22
s
>163 Abd Halil, M. Izzat Hilmi
@
30
m
58
s
>164 Cahyadi, Aiman
@
23
m
52
s
165 Perez Munoz, Wilmar Jahir
@
1
m
27
s
166 Nino Corredor, Victor
@
1
m
27
s
Giant Cycling Team MSS
DS: Song Guoqiang
>171 Chen, Zhiwen
@
5
m
23
s
>172 Deng, Penghai
@
1
m
30
s
>173 Gu, Tianhao
@
27
m
45
s
>174 Shi, Hang
@
2
m
10
s
>175 Li, Xiang Yuan
@
26
m
41
s
>176 Liu, Haiwang
@
26
m
22
s
Malaysia National Team MAS
DS: Omar, Saad
>181 Ahmad Kamal, M. Ameen
@
9
m
23
s
>182 Ahmad Kamal, M Ameer
@
4
m
16
s
>183 Zulkiflie, Nik Mohd Azwan
@
1
m
30
s
>184 Mohd Zariff, M. Nur Aiman
@
1
m
30
s
>185 Lakasek, Irwandie
@
23
m
57
s
>186 Mohd Zamri, Eiman Firdaus
@
26
m
41
s
108 Riders.