MELAKA: Team TotalEnergies will have to keep on their toes if their rider Joris Delbove is to hang on to the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi green jersey until the end of the tour.
XDS Astana Team have made it clear they will be shifting their focus to the general classification (GC) in the final two stages now that their top sprinter Matteo Malucelli, who won stage one, three and four, is now out of the tour.
Malucelli crashed in yesterday’s stage six and was forced to abandon the tour due to injuries sustained.
“It is disappointing to lose Matteo as he had proven that he was the fastest sprinter here,” said Astana sporting director Mark Renshaw yesterday.
“Now we need to refocus and shift to the GC and try to help Nicolas Vinokurov find some bonus seconds and also try for the sprints with Aaron Gate.”
Delbove currently holds a six second advantage over second-placed Anders Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) in the GC standings while Unibet Tietema Rockets’ Adrian Maire (+6s), Tudor Pro Cycling’s Yannis Voissard (+7s) and Vinokurov (+11s) are not far off.
Johannessen had also expressed his intent to chase bonus seconds in the remaining stages.
And there will be plenty of opportunities to do so.
The seventh stage today from Melaka to Medini (214.9km) will feature three intermediate sprints at Sungai Rambai, Semerah and Pontian.
The eighth and final stage tomorrow from Tangkak to Kuala Lumpur (180.2km) will also feature three intermediate sprints at Alor Gajah, Seremban and Semenyih.
The last stage will also feature three categorised climbs at Setul (category three), Bukit Hantu (category two) and Ampang Look out Point (category two) which could cause a split in the peloton if Astana decides to really put the hammer down as they did in stage three (Gerik-Pasir Puteh).
– NST
