KUALA LUMPUR: Equipo Kern Pharma leads a strong trio of Spanish ProTeams set to ignite the 30th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi 2026 (LTdL26), scheduled to take place from 27 September to 4 October.
Alongside Kern Pharma, Spanish stalwarts Burgos Burpellet-BH and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA bring extensive LTdL experience, ensuring a formidable Spanish presence at this year’s race.
Kern Pharma, currently competing at the Vuelta a Espana, has submitted a 12-rider provisional roster including six reserves. Remarkably, six of these riders are slated to line up for the Spanish Grand Tour starting Saturday.
The core six-rider entry features Marc Brustenga Masague, Pablo Carrascosa Miller, Ivan Cobo Cayon, Inigo Elosegui Momene, Nil Gimenez Ferrer, and Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez. The reserve bench includes Diego Uriarte Belzenegui, Ho Yan Yi, Cesar Perez, Mikel Retegui Goni, Ibon Ruiz Sedano, and the LTdL22 champion Ivan Ramiro Sosa (who won the crown with WorldTeam Movistar).
Led by Team Manager Mikel Ezkieta Kitzi, Kern Pharma is expected to finalise its starting six after assessing their rider’s performances at the Vuelta and upcoming European one-day classics prior to arriving in Malaysia for Stage 1 (Shah Alam to Kampar) on 27 September.
The Orkoien-based outfit who made their debut at LTdL2023 and clinched the Team General Classification title at LTdL2024, boasts up to four climbing specialists and two sprinters.
Carrascosa, Cobo, Elosegui, and Gutierrez are tipped to spearhead the hunt for the General Classification and King of the Mountains (KOM) jerseys.
Meanwhile, former Lidl-Trek WorldTeam sprinter Brustenga and Gimenez Ferrer will target stage victories across the five flat, sprint-friendly stages.
Burgos Burpellet-BH has fielded three Vuelta veterans acknowledged for their climbing prowess namely Jose Manuel Diaz Gallego, Mario Aparicio and Jose Luis Faura. They will be supported in the mountains by Mongolian climber Jambaljamts Sainbayar and New Zealand’s Josh Burnett.
Greek sprinter Georgios Bouglas – a winner of seven career titles, including the Points Classification at this year’s Tour of Albania, will serve as the team’s lead sprinter.
Managed by Damien Garcia, the Burgos-based team has named Vojtech Kminak, Carlos Garcia Pierna and Ander Okamika as reserves.
The 31-year-old Diaz Gallego, who holds four career victories, placed sixth overall at LTdL2024 and eighth last year, while 26-year-old Aparicio claimed the King of the Mountains crown at LTdL2024.
Making their third appearance after finishing third in the Team Overall classification at LTdL2025, Burgos will rely heavily on Gallego and Aparicio, alongside valuable local route insights from Sainbayar, who spent three seasons with Malaysia’s Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG).
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA brings a potent lineup led by Abel Balderstone, Nil Aguilera, Julen Arriolabengoa, Gorka Corres, Iuri Leitao and 19-year-old talent Iker Villa Galdeano.
Balderstone, an accomplished climber who featured in this year’s Tour de France, will be backed by Aguilera and Arriolabengoa. Corres and Galdeano are expected to pilot Portuguese sprinter Leitao, a seven-time career winner who recently scooped a stage victory at the Tour of Qinghai Lake in July.
LTdL26 Secretariat Chief Operating Officer (COO) Emir Abdul Jalal noted that preliminary entries from all three Spanish ProTeams clearly demonstrate a focus on the GC and mountain classification battles.
“While these are preliminary rosters, Kern Pharma, Burgos and Caja Rural bring vast experience from previous LTdL editions and major Asian races.
“Their rider selections lean heavily toward General Classification contenders, anticipating the two grueling Hors Category summit finishes at Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands, alongside the Category 1 climb up Gunung Jerai.
“With numerous climbers coming directly off the Vuelta a Espana, Tour de France and major ProSeries events across Europe and Asia such as the Tour of Turkiye, Tour of Hainan, Tour of Qinghai Lake, Volta a Portugal, Vuelta a Burgos and Tour of Slovenia, we expect the Spanish contingency to be major protagonists at LTdL2026,” said Emir.
The 30th edition of LTdL2026 is co-organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN), with full backing from the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF), covering a total distance of 1,285.5km across eight stages.
