KUALA LUMPUR – Two ProTeam (PT) teams from France, Team TotalEnergies and Unibet Tietema Rockets, are set to return to the eight-stage PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2025 (PLTdL25) which kick-off on September 28. Their participation marks their first return to Asia’s premier tour after a long lay-off.
TotalEnergies is the new name for the team formerly known as Bonjour, Bouygues Telecom, Bbox-Bouygues and Europcar, which were regular fixtures in the PLTdL in the early part of the last decade. The team later changed its sponsor to Direct Energies, which took over the team in 2016 and was registered as a ProTeam in 2020.
Unibet Tietema Rockets previously competed in PLTdL2007 under the name Unibet.com. The sponsors withdrew temporarily from sponsoring a professional cycling team due to issues surrounding gambling companies in sports before being revived in 2023.
The return of these two teams to the PLTdL25 stage has garnered significant attention, especially since their rider lists suggest they are focused on competing for the individual and team general classifications (GC).
PLTdL25 Chief Operating Officer (COO), Emir Abdul Jalal, stated that with a roster full of climbers and one-day race specialists rather than renowned sprinters, TotalEnergies and Unibet’s focus will be on the decisive stages that include climbing routes, such as Gerik-Pasir Puteh, Temerloh-Bukit Frasers and the final stage featuring the hilly roads of Bukit Antu and Ampang Look Out.
“We are confident that these two French teams will showcase their own unique strategies, especially since their riders are rich with experience competing throughout Europe,” Emir said in a statement today.
TotalEnergies, which has accumulated 8 wins and 35 podium finishes this year, is fielding four climbing specialists namely Joris Delbove, Alan Jousseume, Nicola Mancerou and British rider Adam Mitchell. Lorenzo Manzin and Jason Tesson will play their role as sprinters.
Manzin, 31, a former rider for the WorldTeam Française des Jeux (FdJ), is considered as experienced sprinter, having competed in four Grand Tours and two classic races. His best result was a second-place finish at 2017 Vuelta a Espana, in addition to two third-place finishes in this year’s Tour of Rwanda.
Tesson, 27, who has 9 professional wins, has also shown good form recently, winning a stage in the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine and finishing third in Stage 1 of Coppi Bartali.
Delbove, 25, also won a stage in the Tour of Rwanda, while Jausseaume, 27, finished second in Stage 4 of this year’s Vuelta a Andalucia.
Mitchell, 23, won the Tour Nivernais-Morvan, while Mancerou, 22, who joined TotalEnergies on August 1, is expected to act as a domestique.
Unibet, meanwhile, has a roster of riders who are all strong climbers. Adrien Maire, 24, won Stage 4 of the Tour of Hellas on his way to a third-place overall finish, in addition to placing second in the Tour du Doubs and ninth overall in the Tour of Turkiye.
Former UKYO, Bardiani and Kern Pharma rider Giovanni Carboni, 30, is another key rider for Unibet after being crowned King of the Mountains in this year’s Tour of Hellas. Another experienced rider who has competed with EF Education and Uno-X, Odd Christian Eiking, 30, finished third overall in the Tour of Sibiu.
The team’s three other GC contenders are Cedric Bakke Christophersen, 23; Owen Geleijn, 24; and British rider Zeb Kyffin, 27.
The eight-stage PLTdL25 will pass through all 12 states in Peninsular Malaysia, covering a total distance of 1,224.2 km. It will begin in Langkawi on September 28 and conclude at KLCC on October 5.
The 2.ProSeries status tour is organised 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.
TEAM TOTALENERGIES RIDER LIST
- JORIS DELBOVE (FRA)
- ALAN JOUSSEAUME (FRA)
- LORENZO MANZIN (FRA)
- NICOLA MANCEROU (FRA)
- ADAM MITCHELL (GBR)
- JASON TESSON (FRA)
UNIBET TIETEMA ROCKETS RIDER LIST
- ADRIEN MAIRE (FRA)
- GIOVANNI CARBONI (ITA)
- CEDRIC BAKKE CHRISTOPHERSEN (NOR)
- ODD CHRISTIAN EIKING (NOR)
- OWEN GELEIJN (NED)
- ZEB KYFFIN (GBR)
