LANGKAWI: Although they have won stages in the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi (PLTdL) before or enjoyed great success on the highest Grand Tour circuits, no rider dares to predict whether they will achieve success at the 29th edition of PLTdL25, which starts in Langkawi tomorrow.
During the riders press conference attended by this year’s PLTdL ‘favourite’ riders today, many admitted that past records or experience are not factors that can guarantee victory, whether for a stage or the general classification.
ProTeam Uno-X Mobility, Alexander Kristoff, 38, who has collected 98 career wins including 13 Grand Tour appearances and 41 classic races, admitted it will be difficult for him to add to his collection of victories at PLTdL25.
”The goal of coming here is indeed to win, but I realise every race has its difficulties. But I love competing in the final sprint and with several stages considered flat, I also have a chance and want to seize it,” said Kristoff, who is racing in Malaysia for the first time but will retire after the end of this racing season.
Moreover, the winner of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) King of Sprint orange jersey in 2024 from winning 3 stages, Matteo Malucelli, 31, who now represents the elite WorldTeam, XDS-Astana, admitted it will be difficult for him to repeat the brilliance he showed with JCL UKYO last year.
”It’s hard to predict who will win the GC or the stages. Any rider can win, especially since many are currently in good form after just finishing the Vuelta. There are some flat routes that might favour the sprinters, while the climbs are tough even though they are not long. There will also certainly be many small groups making breakaways.
“So PLTdL25 is an open race and anyone can win. My personal goal is also to win again while adding UCI ranking points for Astana,” he said, admitting that being with a WorldTeam this time provides motivation to deliver the best sprints while hoping his teammate, Nicholas Vinoukurov, 23, chases the GC and the Best Asian Rider jersey.
Malucelli’s main rival is Tudor Cycling Team rider, Arvid Kleijn, who was the King of Sprint in 2023 but had to concede to Malucelli’s brilliance last year.
”I personally asked the team to come here again despite facing a difficult and challenging season early this year due to a 12-week break after a broken collarbone in a crash during the Tour of UAE race last February.
”The goal of coming here is to win again. I have sweet memories of winning here and I’m happy to return with a good level of fitness and can’t wait to compete in the final sprints again,” said the Swiss rider nicknamed ‘Little Gorilla’.
For Burgos-Burpellet BH rider who was also the King of the Mountains jersey winner last year, Mario Aparicio, the memory is still fresh and he appears with a bigger goal of chasing the overall individual green jersey sponsored by PETRONAS.
“The opportunity to race in the Vuelta a Espana this year also gave me a lot of new experience, even though I fell ill at that time, but I have fully recovered. In fact, I’m back with the same goal and might be able to challenge for the green jersey (GC),” said the 25-year-old rider who has been with Burgos since 2021.
The opportunity to race in PLTdL is a new and bigger chapter in a rider’s career, and this was acknowledged by Yukiya Arashiro himself who makes a come-back after 18 years.
Appearing in the ProTeam Solution Tech-Vini Fantini jersey, Arashiro, who first appeared in 2007 with the Nippo Corporation team, still remembers PLTdL as the top race in Asia.”I’m happy to be back here again because I still remember it’s always filled with the warmth of the fans and fellow riders – moreover, I admit it’s a smooth and well-managed race.
“As a team, Vini Fantini is also enthusiastic because we won at the Tour of Shanghai and most of the riders were retained and came here. Although it’s difficult, we hope to win a stage,” said Arashiro who was courted by several world-class teams like Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Lampre-Merida (now Bahrain-Victorious) and gained experience racing in 16 GT-level races.
PLTdL fans can also place their faith in the chances of local riders, and the double national champion representing the Terengganu Cycling Team, Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli, 26, considered as one of the contenders.
“I serve as a helper for our two sprinters (Harrif Saleh and Wan Abdul Rahman Hamdan), but I’m also looking for my own opportunities,” said the national road race and individual time trial champion, who is considered capable of causing an upset through a solo breakaway.
A total of 129 riders from 22 teams will start Stage 1 of PLTdL25, the Langkawi Round Island with a distance of 96.7km at 8am tomorrow and finish at the same location at Jalan Padang Matsirat, Pekan Kuah involving three sprint zones and one Category 4 climb zone.PLTdL25, which has 2.ProSeries status on the UCI Asia calendar, starts in Langkawi and will end in front of the PETRONAS Twin Towers on October 5th, involving a total distance of 1,244.2km.
It is organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN) and is supported by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
