KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25th – Despite being at the tail end of his career, Uno-X Mobility ProTeam rider Alexander Kristoff is still considered one of the contenders to watch at the eight-day PETRONAS-Le Tour de Langkawi 2025 (PLTdL25), schedule to begin from September 28 to October 5.
With 98 victories over his 20-year professional career, Kristoff has more than enough experience to add to his winning collection at the PLTdL25. The route for each stage at this year tour seems to favour his strengths as a sprinter and puncher who likes to make solo breaks.
While all eyes are on his teammate, the 2022 King of Sprints Erlend Blikra is likely to repeat his performance from three years ago especially at long stages like Stage 3 (Gerik-Pasir Puteh), Stage 7 (Melaka-Medini) and Stage 8 (Tangkak-KLCC) and it seem perfectly suited to Kristoff’s style, as he’s known for excelling in one-day classic races.
PLTd25 Chief Operating Officer (COO), Emir Abdul Jalal, said Kristoff’s presence at the 29th edition of the tour is a huge honour for cycling fans in Malaysia, especially since the 38-year-old rider has announced his retirement at the end of this season.
“Although Kristoff has past his golden era, his presence at the PLTdL25 is enough to draw a crowd and with his vast experience riding in Grand Tours and monument classic races, it wouldn’t be surprising if he continues to add to his win tally,” said Emir in a statement today.
Kristoff, one of the most successful Norwegian cyclists in the sport’s history, who was ranked second in the UCI in 2015 and placed second at the 2017 World Championships, first made his name with the Glud & Marstrand-Horsens team in 2006.
He has since worn the jersey of world-class teams like BMC Racing, Team Katusha, UAE Team Emirates and Intermarche-Wanty Gobert before joining Uno-X in 2023.
With four stage wins at the Tour de France and monument classic victories like Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem and Tour of Flanders during his prime, Kristoff still has plenty of gas in the tank. He has recorded two wins this year namely – Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Andalucia and more recently, Stage 2 of the Arctic Race of Norway on August 8.
“Blikra’s presence heats up the competition for the King of Sprints orange jersey sponsored by KBS because there will be many top sprinters this year, including the defending champion Matteo Malucelli and Gleb Syritsa (XDS Astana), Alberto Dainese (Tudor), Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani) and Fabio Jakobsen (Picnic PostNL),” Emir added.
Uno-X is expected to pin its hopes on three riders – Amund Grondahl Jansen, Anders Halland Johanessen and Johannes Kulset to challenge for the Petronas-sponsored green jersey for the general classification. The three riders balanced experience and abilities on hilly and flat terrain make them favourite candidates.
Jansen, 31, a former Lotto-Jumbo rider and the 2019 Norwegian national champion, has ridden in the Tour de France five times and won the first stage of the Team Time Trial (TTT) in 2019 while
Johanessen, 25, has been with Uno-X since 2022 and was trusted to ride in the Tour de France this year, where he finished 76th overall, including a 7th place finish on Stage 10. He also shined when he won the Tour of Slovenia in June.
Kulset, 21, is a rider who came up through Uno-X’s development team and has shown great potential. He was listed in the Tour de France last year, finishing 47th overall and won the Best Young Rider jersey at the Tour of AIUla earlier this year.
“In their first appearance in 2022, Uno-X’s best rider was Torstein Traeen, who finished third overall behind champion Ivan Sosa (Movistar) and Hugh Carthy (EF Education) while Blikra won Stage 6 in Alor Setar. Uno-X is definitely coming more prepared this year,” said Emir.
Another young rider, 22-year-old Simon Dalby, who won the Best Young Rider title at the 2023 GP Jeseniky and finished 10th overall at the Tour of Oman this year, will serve as a domestique (support rider).
The 29th edition of the PLTdL25 will cover all 12 states on the peninsula, with a total distance of 1,243.5km, starting in Langkawi Island and ending at KLCC.
The 2.ProSeries status race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar 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).
The race will begin in Langkawi Island on September 28 with the first stage covering a distance of 96.5 kilometers (km) followed by Stage 2 from Padang Besar, Perlis to Kepala Batas, Penang (170.1km);
Stage 3 from Gerik, Perak to Pasir Puteh, Kelantan (198.2km); Stage 4 from Kuala Terengganu to Kemaman (140.8km); Stage 5 from Temerloh to Fraser’s Hill, Pahang (133.7km); Stage 6 from Shah Alam, Selangor to Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (123.4km); Stage 7 from Melaka to Medini, Johor (214.6km) and Stage 8 from Tangkak, Johor to Kuala Lumpur (180.5km) on October 5.
UNO-X MOBILITY RIDER LINEUP
1.ALEXANDER KRISTOFF (NOR)
2.AMUND GRODAHL JANSEN (NOR)
3.ANDERS HALLAND JOHANESSEN (NOR)
4.ERLEND BLIKRA (NOR)
5.JOHANNES KULSET (NOR)
6.SIMON DALBY (DEN)
SEKRETARIAT PETRONAS LE TOUR de LANGKAWI 2025
MAJLIS SUKAN NEGARA
