AYER KEROH: There was plenty of action throughout the fifth stage of Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today (Oct 3) but in the end it was a familiar face, Tudor Pro Cycling’s Arvid de Kleijn, who emerged the winner.

De Kleijn once again denied Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team Ukyo) victory, timing his sprint perfectly to take the win in three hours, 35 minutes and 30 seconds. Astana Qazaqstan’s Gleb Syritsa finished third in the bunch sprint.

The 167.3 kilometre stage started in front of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and ended in Ayer Keroh, Melaka.

EF Education EasyPost’s Sean Quinn launched an audacious solo attack in the final five KM of the stage but was caught with time to spare.

De Kleijn, who won the fourth stage (Kuala Kubu Bharu-Bentong) yesterday, said he was pleased to deliver the goods after struggling in the hills earlier in the day.

There were three categorised climbs at Ampang, Bukit Hantu (both category two) and Bukit Mantin (category three).

“I struggled a little bit during the climbs but my teammate Sebastian (Kolze Changizi) stayed with me and even Maikel Zijlaard dropped back to help. They brought it back together (to the peloton),” said de Kleijn, whose nickname is ‘Little Gorilla’.

“The guys did an amazing job to put me in the perfect position for the sprint. Maikel went and I saw the 200 metre mark in front of me and I just went for it.

“Matteo was on my wheel and tried to make the jump but it didn’t happen. It feels really nice to win again in Melaka.”

De Kleijn had won the sixth stage of LTdL last year which started in Karak and also ended in Melaka.

The Dutchman is now second in the sprinters classification (orange jersey) just one point adrift of Malucelli who leads on 46 points.

DSM-Firmenich’s PostNL’s Max Poole went into attack mode today and further strengthened his grip on the green jersey (general classification) after winning the intermediate sprints at Semenyih, Seremban and Rembau.

Thanks to the bonus seconds he earned today, he now has a 12 second advantage atop the GC. Burgos BH’s Jose Diaz is second (+12s) while JC Team Ukyo’s Thomas Pesenti is third (+15s).

The race was briefly neutralised for three kilometres half-way through the stage due to heavy rain.

Poole was visibly relieved to put some seconds into his rivals.

“It gives me a bit of a buffer which is obviously nice. We need to stay sharp over the next few days,” said Poole.

“We just need to keep doing the same things and keep the guys (rivals) on a close leash. Hopefully we can bring it (green jersey) home.”

Poole has been in strong form this season and secured four podium finishes in stages at the Vuelta a Espana last month.

With only relatively flat terrain to contend with in the remaining three stages, it will not be easy for Poole’s rivals to displace him atop the GC standings.

Terengganu Cycling Team’s (TSG) Nur Aiman Rosli was the highest placed Malaysian finisher in the fifth stage, crossing the line 21st (+4s).

The sixth stage tomorrow will start in Batu Pahat and end in Kulai covering a total distance of 123.4km. There will be three intermediate sprints at Senggarang, Rengit and Bukit Batu.

– NST