PASIR PUTEH XDS Astana rider Matteo Malucelli stayed true to his word that he would not settle for just one stage victory in this year’s Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) after storming to another win in Stage Three from Gerik to Pasir Puteh on Tuesday (Sept 30).
It was far from an easy triumph for the Italian, who had to rely on a photo finish after a tightly contested bunch sprint to the line.
A wide smile finally broke across his face when he was confirmed the winner, having edged out Norwegian sprint legend Alexander Kristoff of Uno-X Mobility with a time of 4’28:04s. Kristoff’s teammate Erlend Blikra finished third.
“It’s always a good feeling when you win a big race, especially against top riders,” said Malucelli.
The 30-year-old had earlier clinched the opening stage in Kuah on Sunday but missed out on back-to-back wins after finishing second behind Tudor Pro Cycling’s Arvid De Kleijn in Stage Two from Padang Besar to Kepala Batas on Monday.
Malucelli’s second win of the tour, coming after his stage one triumph in Langkawi, kept him in control of the green jersey (overall classification) with a total time of 9’57:59 ahead of Blikra and teammate Aaron Murray Gate.
He also continues to don the orange jersey as the points classification leader for the third consecutive stage.
Meanwhile, Terengganu Cycling Team’s (TSG) Vadim Pronskiy wrested the white jersey for best Asian rider from teammate Aiman Rosli.
The polka dot jersey for the King of the Mountains also changed hands, with Team Picnic PostNL’s Patrick Eddy taking over after tying on 15 points with Jambaljamts Sainbayar of Burgos-Burpellet-BH.
Unibet Tietema Rockets’ Cedrik Bakke Christophersen sits third in the mountains classification with seven points.
Stage four on Wednesday (Oct 1) will span 141.5km, featuring three sprint zones in Marang, Dungun and Paka, and one categorised climb in Kajai.
– The Star
