KUALA LUMPUR – With three more days before the curtain rises on Le Tour de Langkawi 2026 (LTdL26) with Stage 1 from Shah Alam to Kampar this Sunday, 11 teams have made changes to their six-rider line-ups, while two other teams have finalised their squads.
Dutch WorldTeam Picnic PostNL decided to field a balanced team, replacing four riders from its initial list, namely Matt Dinham, Tim Naberman, Milan de Causter and Mees Vlot, with Mattia Gaffuri, Christiaan Van Rees, Matthew Peace and Roy Hoogendorn.
Gaffuri and Peace are capable climbers who will support Guillermo Juan Martinez, while Van Rees and Hoogendorn is likely to help another of Picnic’s sprint specialists, Dillon Corkery.
Spanish ProTeam Caja Rural-Seguros RGA made three notable changes, naming a sprinter with 52 career wins, including five stages of the Giro d’Italia and two stages of the Tour de France, Fernando Gaviria Rendon.
The 32-year-old Colombian, who crashed and withdrew from Stage 12 of the Tour de France last July, will replace Portuguese sprinter Iuri Leitao.
Another rider dropped from the team is climber Nil Aguilera, who is replaced by Spanish climber Jabier Ibanez Beltran de Salazar, 24. Another climber, Gorka Corres, is replaced by Jan Castellon, 23, a young climber who finished second in the general classification (GC) at the Tour of Qinghai Lake last July and ninth at the AlUla Tour earlier this year.
LTdL2026 Secretariat Chief Operating Officer (COO) Emir Abdul Jalal said last-minute changes like these are normal ahead of a stage race, as each team considers many factors into account.
“We are not surprised and had expected changes to the rider lists because it happens every year. Teams will want to study the type of route to be used and assess the current fitness of their riders.
“Although we have lost a few big names such as Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), we received good news when Gaviria was listed, which I believe raises the profile of this LTdL26.
“Gaviria’s name, with his 52 career victories including at the Giro and the Tour de France, will heat up the two-way contest for the blue King of the Sprints jersey with XDS-Astana rider Matteo Malucelli,” he said.
Emir also did not rule out further minor changes when team managers submit their final lists at the managers’ meeting to be held 24 hours before Stage 1 of LTdL26 begins.
Other changes came from Spanish ProTeam Burgos Burpellet-BH, which brought in three riders expected to dominate the final sprints in Daniel Cavia Sanz, 24; Rodrigo Alvarez, 27; and Japanese rider Tomoya Koyama, 28.
The three riders dropped are Mongolian Jambaljamst Sainbayar, Jose Luis Faura and Greek sprinter Georgios Bouglas.
Italian ProTeam Bardiani CSF 7 Saber also shook up its line-up, removing Andrea Montagner, Manuel Tarozzi and Marco Manenti, and giving the roles to three young riders – two sprinters, Filippo Cettolin, 20, Santiago Ferraro, 19, and a climber, Mattia Stenico, 19.
Equipo Kern Pharma, the Spanish ProTeam that was named Best Team at LTdL2024, also made changes by dropping sprinter Marc Brustenga and climber Ivan Cobo. They were replaced by young climber Ibai Azanza Burusco, 22 and Taiwanese rider Ho Yan Yi, 24.
Swiss ProTeam Tudor confirmed the removal of sprinter Ziljaard, replacing him with 22-year-old climber Robin Donze, who finished eighth at last year’s B-23 World Championships.
Another ProTeam making minor changes is TotalEnergies, which did not list star climber Jegat but is sending Nicolas Breuillard, 26, a climber who has been signed by Astana for next season.
Breuillard excelled with fifth-place GC results at the Tour of Turkiye and the Czech Tour this year, and also gained experience at the Tour de France, finishing 50th in the GC, including eighth place on Stage 8 Malemort-Ussel.
Several Continental teams also made minor changes. 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines named Irish climber Cormac McGeogh to replace New Zealander James Steven Kreanich and Britain’s Bradley Scott Perkin to replace Australian Matthew Sherwin.
South Korean Continental team KSPO named two riders, Kim Yong Joo and Je Hwanhui, to replace Kim Gukhyun and Kim Jinwoon, while Japanese Continental team Aisan Racing Team replaced Hayato Tobaru with George Matsui.
Malaysia’s Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) also replaced French sprinter Pierre Barbier with young local talent Kee Zhe Yie, who rode for the national squad in the last edition.
Another Malaysian Continental team, Malaysia Pro Cycling Team (MPC), and the Malaysian national squad confirmed the final line-ups of their six riders after completing their respective final selection sessions.
MPC, will be led by 2026 national champion Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil and will be joined by Muhammad Iqbal Daniel Nawawi; Muhammad Syawal Mazlin; Muhammad Iqmal Zarawi; Muhammad Adam Danish Afdzal; and Filipino-born Erickson Lopez.
The Malaysian national squad finalised its selection by fielding team leader Muhammad Zawawi Azman, Chan Jian Le, Muhammad Adam Hakimi Nazuan, Muhammad Yusri Shaari, Muhammad Zahin Wahii and young rider Tsen Ren Han, who is also the younger brother of St George Continental Cycling Team rider, Tsen Ren Bao.
LTdL26, which has 2.ProSeries status, will start with Stage 1 Shah Alam-Kampar this Sunday and end with Stage 8 Muar-Putrajaya, covering a total distance of 1,285.5km.
Now in its 30th edition, the 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).
