Le Tour de Langkawi 2018 – Stage 1 [Highlights]

March 18, 2018

Le Tour de Langkawi 2018 – Stage 1 – Kangar – Kulim : 147,9 km

The Tour de Langkawi is a multiple stage bicycle race held in Malaysia. It is named after the archipelago Langkawi, where the first edition started and finished. The race has been held annually since 1996, primarily in the month of February. It usually consists of 10 day-long segments (stages) over 10 days, but has been reduced to eight stages over recent years. While the route changes each year, the Genting Highlands climb, the toughest in the tour, is always included. Tour de Langkawi is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC road race in the UCI Asia Tour calendar.

Andrea Guardini picked up where he left off at the Tour de Langkawi, winning stage 1 of the race in Kulim. Guardini missed the 2017 edition of the race but has now won three straight stages having closed out his last appearance with back-to-back wins.

Guardini’s 2016 win in Melaka was his last until Sunday in Kulim, which was his 23rd stage win at the Malaysian race and his first in Bardiani-CSF colours. The imperious Italian took the stage win ahead of a surging Joonyong Seo (KSPO Bianchi) and Mekseb Debesay (Dimension Data).

“It was a confusing sprint in the finale. It was hard to be in the first positions but with my teammates, we played our cards really well and didn’t take the front of the race,” Guardini said of the sprint.

“We knew it was far away and then with Paolo [Simion] we caught the wheels of the other trains and took the front position with 500 metres to go. He led me out with 200 to go and I started my sprint and won well.”

In the set-up for the sprint, Manzana Postobon were driving the pace but were knocked out of contention for the win following a late crash. Guardini and the majority of the favoured sprinters avoided the fall and, in the clean sprint, it was the 28-year-old raising his arms in victory, erasing the memories of his third-place finish in the same stage from 2016.

For the CG riders in the field, stage 1 was not of high importance but, with his third place, Debesay confirmed he is in form and will be an overall contender. The four-second time bonus was an early win for the Dimension Data rider.

“Today’s stage was fast because it was quite short and completely flat with a lot of sprinters. For me, I can’t beat the sprinters so with third place today I am happy,” he said.

Stage 2 of the Tour de Langkawi is the longest on the menu in 2018 at 208.3km. Starting in Gerik and finishing in Kota Bahru, it is expected to finish in a reduced bunch sprint.

How it unfolded

All 131 riders named on the 2018 Tour de Langkawi start list assembled in Kangar Sunday morning to get the race underway.

As expected, there was a scramble to establish the first breakaway of the race in the opening 20km. Once Sebastian Molano won the first intermediate sprint over Andrea Guardini, the breakaway was formed, containing Bo Wang (Hengxiang), Muhammad Abdurrohman (KFC) and Nik Mohd Azwan Zulkiflie (Forca Amskins).

The trio eked out a three-minute lead ahead of the Bardiani-CSF-led peloton by the second sprint point in Alor Setar. With the peloton sensing no danger from the move, the lead was allowed to balloon out to over six minutes midway through the 146km stage. At the head of the race, Wang won the second and third intermediate sprints to hoover up points and bonus seconds.

At the sole KOM of the day in Bukit Selambau, Wang took maximum points ahead of Zulkiflie to guarantee the mountains classification jersey on the finish line was waiting for him. Shortly after the climb, Wang sat up and waited for the peloton. Like on the climb, Zulkiflie was close behind Wang in making the same decision, to leave Abdurrohman out on the road as the lone leader. With a touch over 30km to race, he too re-joined the peloton and it was gruppo compatto.

On the flat run-in to the line in Kulim, the sprint teams took up the pace and confirmed the bunch sprint was on. A crash inside the final two kilometres involved a number of Manzana Postobon riders with the majority of the favourites unscathed. With Paolo Simion leading him through, Guardini was dropped into position with 200 meters to go and never looked back, the Italian securing a winning comeback to the race.

Guardini will lead the race by six seconds on stage 2, hoping to equal Andrea Tafi’s record 10 days in yellow should he retain the race lead in Kota Bahru.

Results :
1 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 3:29:04
2 Joonyong Seo (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
3 Mekseb Debesay (Eri) Dimension Data
4 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
5 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
6 Luca Pacioni (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
7 Kaden Groves (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
8 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
9 Alan Banaszek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
10 Abdul Gani (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
11 Zhiwen Chen (Chn) Giant Cycling Team
12 Matteo Malucelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
13 Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
14 Anuar Manan (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
15 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
16 Charles Bradley Huff (USA) Rally Cycling
17 Andris Vosekalns (Lat) Hengxiang Cycling Team
18 Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
19 Sarawut Sirironnachai (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
20 Dominic Perez (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
21 Sam Crome (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
22 Muhammad Shaiful Adlan Mohd Shukri (Mas) Malaysia
23 Mahrus Ali (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
24 Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
25 Aiman Cahyadi (Ina) Team Sapura Cycling
26 Muhammad Ameer Ahmad Kamal (Mas) Malaysia
27 Phuchong Saiudomsin (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
28 Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data
29 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
30 Luca Chirico (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
31 Arjay Peralta (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
32 Alvaro Raul Duarte Sandoval (Col) Forca Amskins Racing
33 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data
34 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
35 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
36 Muhammad Elmi Jumari (Mas) Malaysia
37 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul (Eri) Dimension Data
38 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) Terengganu Cycling Team
39 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
40 Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
41 Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling
42 Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
43 Sukho Kang (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
44 Michal Schlegel (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
45 Imam Arifin Muh (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
46 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF
47 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
48 Thomas Lebas (Fra) Kinan Cycling Team
49 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
50 Rustom Lim (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
51 Sungbaek Park (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
52 Salvador Guardiola (Spa) Kinan Cycling Team
53 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
54 Selamat Juangga (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
55 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
56 Daeyeon Kim (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
57 Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team
58 Juan Felipe Osorio Arboleda (Col) Manzana Postobon
59 Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Rally Cycling
60 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
61 Simone Velasco (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
62 Marcos Garcia Fernandez (Spa) Kinan Cycling Team
63 Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
64 Luca Raggio (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
65 Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
66 Muhamad Firdaus Awang (Mas) Malaysia
67 Muhammad Zawawi Azman (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
68 Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
69 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
70 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
71 Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
72 Morgan Smith (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
73 Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
74 Guangtong Ma (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
75 Kenji Nakanishi (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team
76 Brendon Davids (RSA) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
77 Metkel Eyob (Eri) Terengganu Cycling Team
78 Massimo Rosa (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
79 Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Col) Manzana Postobon
80 Yecid Arturo Sierra Sanchez (Col) Manzana Postobon
81 Nik Mohd Hazwan Zulkiflie (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
82 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
83 John Ebsen (Den) Forca Amskins Racing
84 Meng Yan (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
85 Jiankun Liu (Chn) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
86 Wilmar Jahir Perez Muñoz (Col) Team Sapura Cycling
87 Bo Wang (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
88 Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data
89 Muhammad Abdurrohman (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
90 Drew Morey (Aus) Terengganu Cycling Team
91 Mohd Zamri Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
92 Zheng Zhang (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
93 Agung Sahbana (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
94 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
95 Ariya Phounsavath (Lao) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
96 Joseph Cooper (NZl) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
97 Fernando Orjuela Gutierrez (Col) Manzana Postobon
98 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally Cycling
99 Soonyeong Kwon (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
100 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
101 Amir Mustafa Rusli (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
102 Marcelo Felipe (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
103 Muhammad Ameen Ahmad Kamal (Mas) Malaysia
104 Zhihui Jiang (Chn) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
105 Daniel Ven Cariño (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
106 Azli Najmi Zulkefli (Mas) Malaysia
107 Mathew Zenovich (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
108 Seungwoo Choi (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
109 Jianpeng Liu (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
110 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
111 Hang Shi (Chn) Giant Cycling Team
112 Victor Niño Corredor (Col) Team Sapura Cycling
113 Michael Bresciani (Ita) Bardiani CSF
114 Sea Keong Loh (Mas) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
115 Ryan Cavanagh (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
116 Carmelo Franco Martinez (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
117 Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
118 Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
119 Marko Kump (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
120 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
121 Haiwang Liu (Chn) Giant Cycling Team 0:00:45
122 Li Jiabao (Chn) Giant Cycling Team 0:00:54
123 Liu Manduo (Chn) Giant Cycling Team
124 Jacob Hennessy (GBr) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
125 Eric Young (USA) Rally Cycling
126 Dylan Page (Swi) Team Sapura Cycling
127 Yikui Niu (Chn) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
128 Jordan Arley Parra Arias (Col) Manzana Postobon
129 Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) Manzana Postobon
130 Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling
DNF Hiroshi Tsubaki (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 3:28:52
2 Joonyong Seo (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling 0:00:06
3 Bo Wang (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
4 Mekseb Debesay (Eri) Dimension Data 0:00:08
5 Nik Mohd Hazwan Zulkiflie (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
6 Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:00:09
7 Muhammad Abdurrohman (Ina) KFC Cycling Team 0:00:10
8 Dylan Page (Swi) Team Sapura Cycling 0:00:11
9 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:12
10 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
11 Luca Pacioni (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
12 Kaden Groves (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
13 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
14 Alan Banaszek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
15 Abdul Gani (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
16 Zhiwen Chen (Chn) Giant Cycling Team
17 Matteo Malucelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
18 Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
19 Anuar Manan (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
20 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
21 Charles Bradley Huff (USA) Rally Cycling
22 Andris Vosekalns (Lat) Hengxiang Cycling Team
23 Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
24 Sarawut Sirironnachai (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
25 Dominic Perez (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
26 Sam Crome (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
27 Muhammad Shaiful Adlan Mohd Shukri (Mas) Malaysia
28 Mahrus Ali (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
29 Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
30 Aiman Cahyadi (Ina) Team Sapura Cycling
31 Muhammad Ameer Ahmad Kamal (Mas) Malaysia
32 Phuchong Saiudomsin (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
33 Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data
34 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
35 Luca Chirico (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
36 Arjay Peralta (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
37 Alvaro Raul Duarte Sandoval (Col) Forca Amskins Racing
38 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data
39 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
40 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
41 Muhammad Elmi Jumari (Mas) Malaysia
42 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul (Eri) Dimension Data
43 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) Terengganu Cycling Team
44 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
45 Anthony Giacoppo (Aus) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
46 Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling
47 Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
48 Sukho Kang (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
49 Michal Schlegel (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
50 Imam Arifin Muh (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
51 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF
52 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
53 Thomas Lebas (Fra) Kinan Cycling Team
54 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
55 Rustom Lim (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
56 Sungbaek Park (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
57 Salvador Guardiola (Spa) Kinan Cycling Team
58 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
59 Selamat Juangga (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
60 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
61 Daeyeon Kim (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
62 Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team
63 Juan Felipe Osorio Arboleda (Col) Manzana Postobon
64 Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Rally Cycling
65 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
66 Simone Velasco (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
67 Marcos Garcia Fernandez (Spa) Kinan Cycling Team
68 Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
69 Luca Raggio (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
70 Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
71 Muhamad Firdaus Awang (Mas) Malaysia
72 Muhammad Zawawi Azman (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
73 Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
74 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
75 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
76 Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
77 Morgan Smith (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
78 Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
79 Guangtong Ma (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
80 Kenji Nakanishi (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team
81 Brendon Davids (RSA) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
82 Metkel Eyob (Eri) Terengganu Cycling Team
83 Massimo Rosa (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
84 Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Col) Manzana Postobon
85 Yecid Arturo Sierra Sanchez (Col) Manzana Postobon
86 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
87 John Ebsen (Den) Forca Amskins Racing
88 Meng Yan (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
89 Jiankun Liu (Chn) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
90 Wilmar Jahir Perez Muñoz (Col) Team Sapura Cycling
91 Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data
92 Drew Morey (Aus) Terengganu Cycling Team
93 Mohd Zamri Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
94 Zheng Zhang (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
95 Agung Sahbana (Ina) KFC Cycling Team
96 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
97 Ariya Phounsavath (Lao) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
98 Joseph Cooper (NZl) Bennelong Swisswellness Cycling Team
99 Fernando Orjuela Gutierrez (Col) Manzana Postobon
100 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally Cycling
101 Soonyeong Kwon (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
102 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
103 Amir Mustafa Rusli (Mas) Forca Amskins Racing
104 Marcelo Felipe (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
105 Muhammad Ameen Ahmad Kamal (Mas) Malaysia
106 Zhihui Jiang (Chn) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
107 Daniel Ven Cariño (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
108 Azli Najmi Zulkefli (Mas) Malaysia
109 Mathew Zenovich (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
110 Seungwoo Choi (Kor) KSPO Bianchi Asia Procycling
111 Jianpeng Liu (Chn) Hengxiang Cycling Team
112 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
113 Hang Shi (Chn) Giant Cycling Team
114 Victor Niño Corredor (Col) Team Sapura Cycling
115 Michael Bresciani (Ita) Bardiani CSF
116 Sea Keong Loh (Mas) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
117 Ryan Cavanagh (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
118 Carmelo Franco Martinez (Phi) 7 Eleven – Cliqq Roadbike Philippines
119 Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
120 Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
121 Marko Kump (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
122 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
123 Liu Manduo (Chn) Giant Cycling Team
124 Jacob Hennessy (GBr) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
125 Eric Young (USA) Rally Cycling
126 Yikui Niu (Chn) Mitchelton-BikeExchange
127 Jordan Arley Parra Arias (Col) Manzana Postobon
128 Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling
129 Haiwang Liu (Chn) Giant Cycling Team 0:00:57
130 Li Jiabao (Chn) Giant Cycling Team 0:01:06