ISKANDAR PUTERI: Unibet Tietema Rockets rider, Zeb Kyffin, sprang a surprise by winning Stage 7 of the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2025 (PLTdL25) from Melaka to Medini Iskandar Puteri, Johor, today.
It was his first professional career victory for the 27-year-old London-born rider since joining Unibet in 2023, and he hopes to continue his career with the French ProTeam club or catch the attention of other teams.
Today, Medini also saw joy for local fans when Johor-born rider Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli of Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) finished in second place, making him the third local rider to reach a stage podium in the 29-year history of the PLTdL.
Nur Aiman, who also received the Most Combative Rider award for his hard work in the seven-rider early breakaway group before riding solo for over 20km, finished just 2 seconds behind Kyffin and 8 seconds ahead of the peloton led by Tudor Cycling Team’s Arvid de Kleijn.
In addition to the two joyful scenarios for Kyffin and Nur Aiman, Stage 7 was also marred by an accident involving Uno-X Mobility’s legendary rider, Alexander Kristoff and his teammate, the Sprint King points leader, Erlend Blikra, forcing the 38-year-old Kristoff to abandon the race.
Kyffin completed the longest stage of this 29th edition of PLTdL25, covering a distance of 214.9km, in a time of 4 hours 37 minutes 39 seconds with an average speed of 46.4km/h.
No major changes occurred, with all jersey holders retained their respective jerseys despite riding in the scorching heat throughout this edition’s longest race distance. Kyffin, who had been aggressive in several previous stages, set the best move today by breaking away from the peloton to chase down Nur Aiman ahead.
“It’s amazing. There was no pre-race plan; I was just in the peloton. But in the last 15km, I took the opportunity to break away and was let go by the peloton, which was led by the Tudor and Uno-X teams. Then I saw a rider (Nur Aiman) slowing down ahead. I’m not a pure sprinter, but I kept chasing and managed to overtake him,” said Kyffin, laying exhausted on the grass seemingly unable to believe his victory.
Meanwhile, Nur Aiman, a Muar native who targeted this Stage 7, said he was determined to join the seven-rider breakaway group immediately after passing the first sprint zone in Sungai Rambai at km26.
Besides winning the second sprint zone in Semerah (km74.3), Nur Aiman stayed in the small group and conserved energy for his determined solo breakaway attempt in the final 20km after the third sprint zone in Pontian (km166.8), as the other riders in the front group were caught one by one by the peloton.
“I had set a target to pull off a surprise in Stage 7 because this is my home state. I tried to hold on until the finish line but failed. I was too exhausted by then. Even though it’s second place, I’m still proud to stand on the podium,” said the 26-year-old double national champion (road race and individual time trial), whose aggressive riding style, often involving solo breakaways throughout the PLTdL25, reminds local fans of former national rider Loh Sea Keong.
All four jersey holders – the PETRONAS Green Jersey (Overall Leader) worn by Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies); the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) Orange Jersey (Sprint King) worn by Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility); the BubblesO2 Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains) belonging to Patrick Eddy (Team Picnic PostNL); and the Rakan Muda White Jersey (Best Asian Rider) belonging to Nicolya Vinokourov (XDS-Astana) – successfully defended their leads by riding safely and finishing the race within the main group.
In contrast to the sixth stage, which was flagged off in the rain, the 109 riders who started Stage 7 at Jalan Hang Tuah, Historical City of Melaka, endured scorching heat throughout the ride, which did not deter several riders from making early breakaway attempts that were subsequently reeled in.
Delbove, who now has an accumulated time of 23 hours 27 minutes 18 seconds and is still being trailed by 6 seconds by his three closest rivals -Yannis Voisard (Tudor), Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), and Adrien Maire (Unibet) – anticipates a tougher challenge in tomorrow’s 8th and final stage.
“Today’s distance was longer and harder. But I managed to hold on, though I expect tomorrow to be even more difficult and complicated, and I need to be smart in the bonus time zones,” said the 25-year-old rider who has worn the Green Jersey since winning Stage 5 at Fraser’s Hill.
Similar sentiment was shared by Vinokourov, who predicts that the race will be more intense and chaotic, as tomorrow’s Stage 8 features three sprint zones and three climbing zones. “It’s hard to predict, and there will surely be many small breakaways, especially in the climbing zones. But I must be confident because it’s not impossible for me to also challenge for the Green Jersey while defending this White Jersey,” said the 23-year-old son of cycling legend Alexander Vinokourov, who is enjoying his best performance so far.
For Blikra, Stage 7 was unfortunate as his team captain, Kristoff was forced out of the competition due to an error while trying to reach for food in his back pocket. “He lost control in front, and I couldn’t avoid hitting him. His injury looks quite serious, but I was able to continue the ride. Our goal today was to help my teammate (Voisard) for the GC,” he said.
Blikra finished fourth in the stage and has accumulated 55 points in the Sprint King classification, just 4 points ahead of two-time PLTdL25 stage winner, Arvid de Kleijn.
The 8th and final stage of this 29th edition of PLTdL25 continues tomorrow from Dataran Ledang, Tangkak and finishes in front of the PETRONAS Twin Towers (KLCC), Kuala Lumpur covering 180.2km. Sprint zones await at Alor Gajah (km39.9), Seremban (km98.5) and Semenyih (km131.2), along with three climbing zones: a Category 3 climb at Bukit Mantin (km103.5) and two Category 2 climbs at Bukit Hantu (km153.4) and Ampang (km165.9).
The PLTdL25, which holds 2.ProSeries status on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, has passed through all 12 states in Peninsular Malaysia covering a total distance of 1,224.2km. It is organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN) with the support of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
