PORT DICKSON: Tudor Cycling Team rider, Arvid de Kleijn, secured his second stage victory of the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2025 (PLTdL25) by dominating the final sprint of Stage 6 from Shah Alam to Port Dickson today.
Following his win in Stage 2 in Kepala Batas, the absence of the three-time stage winner and Orange Jersey holder, Matteo Malucelli of XDS-Astana, who was injured in an accident early in the race, seemed to simplify De Kleijn’s task on the short 123.5km stage, which took place in rainy conditions and on slippery roads.
This is also the sixth career stage victory for the 31-year-old rider from Herveld, Switzerland, since his first appearance at PLTdL23, boosting his confidence to add more wins in the remaining two days of competition.
De Kleijn frustrated Uno-X Mobility’s sprinter, Erlend Blikra, who is now wearing the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) Orange Jersey (Sprint King) in Malucelli’s absence. Blikra has a chance to win the jersey for the second time after 2023, as he is now only 3 points behind Blikra.
“We controlled the race in the heavy rain and won this stage. After riding in the hot sun every day, it was good to race in the rain. I will try to find another win because a two-point difference is not a small number. In the final sprint, it was fast and I took a position on the right. Although it was a bit far because I didn’t want to take any risks, I had the speed to win,” said De Kleijn.
He confirmed that his manager informed him via team radio about Malucelli’s accident at around the 20km mark, and he wished his rival a quick recovery and a speedy return to racing.
The PETRONAS Green Jersey (Overall Leader) remains with Joris Delbove of TotalEnergies, who finished the stage in 58th place. Delbove ensured a safe ride while monitoring his closest challengers, Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), Adrien Maire (Unibet Tietema Rockets) and Yannis Voisard (Tudor), all of whom finished together in the large group of 101 riders.
The race, flagged off by Selangor Chief Minister Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and PETRONAS Head of Central and Northern Region, Abu Hanzalah Abu Bakar, started under rainy weather at Dataran Kemerdekaan Shah Alam and concluded in front of the Port Dickson Royal Yacht Club with a time of 2 hours 32 minutes 55 seconds, with an average speed of 48.46km/h.
“I slept well last night, but the race was still competitive. I’m happy to wear the Green Jersey for the first time here. However, throughout the race, there were many breakaway attempts to steal bonus time, but my teammates were smart in controlling the pace today. I hope this continues in the two more challenging stages to come,” said Delbove, who now has an overall time of 18 hours 49 minutes 29 seconds, 6 seconds ahead of Johannessen.
The Rakan Muda White Jersey (Best Asian Rider) is still safely held by Astana rider, Nicolya Vinokourov, who also improved his position in the overall individual classification to 5th place after earning a 3 second bonus at the second sprint zone in Banting.
Without any climbing zones today, the BubblesO2 Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains) remains unchanged, with Team Picnic PostNL rider, Patrick Eddy, continuing to wear it until the final stage, as Stage 7 tomorrow also has no climbs.
Local fans were also in good cheer as Malaysian Pro Cycling rider, Mohammad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil, finished in fourth place and emerged as the best Asian rider for the stage. Meanwhile, Malaysian national team rider, Kee Zhe Yie, received the Most Combative Rider Award for his efforts in a breakaway that was only caught about 9km from the finish line. Hilmi was clearly unlucky in the final sprint as he had to brake and lost some momentum, missing a chance for a podium spot.
A total of 109 riders will start tomorrow after three riders – Malucelli, Odd Christian Eiking (Unibet) and Vadim Pronskiy (TSG) failed to finish (DNF), and one rider, Shin Dongil (KSPO), did not start (DNS). KSPO is now down to 2 riders, while Team Picnic PostNL and Chengdu DYC have 3 riders each. Solution Tech Vini Fantini and St George Continental each have 4 riders left in the race.
Stage 7 of PLTdL25 will resume tomorrow morning, starting from Jalan Hang Tuah, Melaka and finishing in Medini, Iskandar Puteri, Johor. This is the longest stage, covering 214.9km and features three sprint zones at Sungai Rambai (km26), Semerah (km74.3), and Pontian (km166.8).
The 29th edition of the PLTdL25, which holds 2.ProSeries status on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, began in Langkawi and will conclude with Stage 8 from Tangkak to KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, this Sunday with a total distance of 1,224.2km. It is organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN) in collaboration with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF.
