Le Tour de Langkawi 2020 – Stage 5 [FULL STAGE]

February 11, 2020

Le Tour de Langkawi 2020 – Stage 5 – Kuala Kubu Baru – Ipoh : 165,8 km

Le Tour de Langkawi goes back to its roots this year. Considering the first edition of Malaysia’s premier international bike race was contested by amateur teams back in 1996, with the overall victory going to the late Australian Damian McDonald, it all started for the professionals in Kota Kinabalu in 1997. For the second time only, the 25th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi kicks off from the Sabah state on the island of Borneo, with a criterium this Friday before the race proper from Kuching on February 7 to Langkawi on February 14. In addition, a new UCI 1.1 race, the Malaysian International Classic, will be held the following day.

Already the second Malaysian stage winner in the 25 years of history of Le Tour de Langkawi last year, Harrif Saleh of TSG Terengganu doubled up as he outsprinted Max Walscheid (NTT Pro Cycling) and Matteo Pelucchi (Bardiani-CSF) in a bunch gallop in Ipoh. Danilo Celano (Sapura) retained the overall lead.

“I wasn’t scared of sprinting against a rider of the calibre of Walscheid”, Saleh said. “I know when I’m on a good day, I’m a good sprinter. I took the last bend in first position and that was the key for winning today. It makes me very happy and I’m grateful to my team for having put me in the situation to repeat my victory from last year.”

This time out, the 31-year-old from Terengganu, the hotbed of Malaysian cycling on the East Coast of the Peninsula, faced fierce competition but he handled the pressure of having to deliver after his climbing specialists teammates lost their battle for the yellow jersey against arch-rivals Sapura atop Genting Highlands. Saleh suffered an eye stroke in October last year and almost became half blind, but he recovered on time to become the first Malaysian to win two stages in the country’s favourite bike race.

His former team-mate Anuar Manan, now riding his 13th Le Tour de Langkawi and thus equalling the participation record of Iran’s Ghader Mizbani, also made the top 10 (9th) in Ipoh despite recently coming out of retirement and carrying some extra kilogrammes. Manan was the first Malaysian to win a stage in Le Tour de Langkawi in Port Dickson in 2010, beating Michael Matthews, among others, in a bunch finish.

It was always going to be a sprint finish in Ipoh but it took fifty kilometres for the breakaway of the day to be formed. 49km were covered in the first hour with constant skirmishes taking place. Mattia Bevilacqua (Vini Zabù-KTM), Johan Le Bon (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Amirul Mazuki (TSG Terengganu), Kent Ross (Wildlife Generation), Yuzuru Suzuki (Utsunomiya Blitzen) and Nik Zulkiflie (Malaysia national team) got a maximum advantage of 3:10 after 75km of racing. Sapura and NTT Pro Cycling, later helped by Bardiani-CSF, brought them with the regrouping occurring 7km before the end.

“We did a pretty good performance as a team once again”, Walscheid said. “I’m also quite happy with my sprint. One rider was just faster. Hats off to him because he sprinted really well. He was on our list of potential contenders this morning.”

Celano enjoyed his first day in the yellow jersey on a flat stage, being aware that stage 6 to the island of Penang will be a more complicated one in the defence of his leadership.

Results :
1 Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 3:39:42
2 Maximilian Richard Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling Team
3 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane
4 Andre Looij (Ned) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team
5 Taj Jones (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
6 Luca Pacioni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
7 Ahmet Orken (Tur) Team Sapura Cycling
8 Tristan Ward (Aus) Team Bridgelane
9 Anuar Manan (Mas) Malaysia
10 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
11 Ryu Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen
12 Kakeru Omae (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
13 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Nippo Delko One Provence
14 Alexander Cowan (Can) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling
15 Georgios Bouglas (Gre) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team
16 Keigo Kusaba (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
17 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane
18 Jamalidin Novardianto (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team
19 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling Team
20 Kyoungho Park (Kor) KSPO Professional
21 Sarawut Sirironnachai (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
22 Pierpaolo Ficara (Ita) Team Sapura Cycling
23 Jaehyun Kim (Kor) KSPO Professional
24 Juan-Pierre Van der Merwe (RSA) Team Bridgelane
25 Siu Wai Ko (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling
26 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept
27 Muhammad Ameer Ahmad Kamal (Mas) Malaysia
28 James Harvey (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
29 Kota Sumiyoshi (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
30 Ahmad Yoga Ilham Firdaus (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team
31 Alexandr Semenov (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
32 Lucas De Rossi (Fra) Nippo Delko One Provence
33 Simone Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM
34 Soonyeong Kwon (Kor) KSPO Professional
35 Ho San Chiu (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling
36 Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
37 Alex Hoehn (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling
38 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM
39 Jeroen Meijers (Ned) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team
40 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM
41 Carlos Julian Quintero Noreña (Col) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team
42 Leonardo Tortomasi (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM
43 Dusan Rajovic (Srb) Nippo Delko One Provence
44 Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
45 Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
46 Metkel Eyob (Eri) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team
47 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team
48 Danilo Celano (Ita) Team Sapura Cycling
49 Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo Delko One Provence
50 Cristian Raileanu (Mda) Team Sapura Cycling
51 Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil (Mas) Malaysia
52 Sandy Hasan (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team
53 Matvey Nikitin (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
54 Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane
55 Ka Hoo Fung (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling
56 Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
57 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling Team
58 Louis Meintjes (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling Team
59 Bernard Benyamin Van Aert (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team
60 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept
61 Fabio Mazzucco (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane
62 Michael Vink (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
63 Igor Chzhan (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
64 Rylee Field (Aus) Team Bridgelane
65 Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept
66 Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
67 Drew Morey (Aus) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team
68 Hiu Fung Choy (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling
69 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen
70 Burr Ho (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling
71 Jihun Kim (Kor) KSPO Professional
72 Wan Yau Vincent Lau (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling
73 Dominic Perez (Phi) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team
74 Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
75 Sofian Nabil Omar Mohd Bakri (Mas) Malaysia
76 Nik Mohd Azwan Zulkiflie (Mas) Malaysia
77 Cormac Mcgeough (Irl) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling
78 Muhammad Danieal Haikkal Edy Suhaidee (Mas) Malaysia
79 Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (Mas) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team
80 Aiman Cahyadi (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team
81 Ariya Phounsavath (Lao) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
82 Alexandr Ovsyannikov (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
83 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Team Sapura Cycling
84 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
85 Mattia Viel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
86 Navuti Liphongyu (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
87 Nicola Venchiarutti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
88 Justin Mottier (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept
89 Carter Bettles (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
90 Mathew Zenovich (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team
91 Edgar Nohales Nieto (Spa) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team
92 Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling
93 Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team
94 Alessandro Pessot (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane
95 Hayato Okamoto (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
96 Jamal Hibatullah (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team
97 Kaito Nakamura (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen
98 Mattia Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM
99 Samuele Battistella (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling Team
100 Stuart Shaw (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
101 Hiroki Nishimura (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen
102 Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM 0:00:33
103 Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling 0:00:36
104 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept
105 Kookhyun Kim (Kor) KSPO Professional
106 Johan Le Bon (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept
107 Gwangho Shin (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:00:46
108 Ben Van Dam (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:00:54
109 Matthew Rice (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:01:01
110 Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:01:53
111 Amarni Drake (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
112 Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling
113 Zack Gilmore (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
114 Masahiro Ishigami (Jpn) Nippo Delko One Provence 0:02:11
115 Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen
116 Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:04:46
117 Alessandro Monaco (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane 0:06:13

General Classification after Stage 5 :
1 Danilo Celano (Ita) Team Sapura Cycling 17:48:10
2 Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors 0:00:30
3 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 0:00:35
4 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept 0:01:13
5 Pierpaolo Ficara (Ita) Team Sapura Cycling
6 Cristian Raileanu (Mda) Team Sapura Cycling 0:01:36
7 Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo Delko One Provence 0:01:52
8 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM 0:01:56
9 Carlos Julian Quintero Noreña (Col) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 0:02:03
10 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM 0:02:16
11 Louis Meintjes (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:02:22
12 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:02:40
13 Jeroen Meijers (Ned) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team 0:03:22
14 Ka Hoo Fung (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling 0:03:54
15 Jamal Hibatullah (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team 0:04:29
16 Alex Hoehn (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling 0:04:33
17 Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team 0:04:44
18 Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team 0:04:51
19 Drew Morey (Aus) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 0:05:05
20 Igor Chzhan (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors
21 Hiu Fung Choy (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling 0:05:46
22 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Team Sapura Cycling 0:06:00
23 Lucas De Rossi (Fra) Nippo Delko One Provence 0:06:25
24 Alexander Cowan (Can) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling 0:06:31
25 Matvey Nikitin (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors 0:07:28
26 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen 0:08:17
27 Metkel Eyob (Eri) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 0:08:27
28 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane 0:08:32
29 Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane
30 Ho San Chiu (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling 0:09:02
31 Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 0:09:13
32 Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept 0:09:36
33 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept 0:09:38
34 Ahmad Yoga Ilham Firdaus (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team 0:10:06
35 Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec 0:10:36
36 Muhammad Danieal Haikkal Edy Suhaidee (Mas) Malaysia 0:11:19
37 Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen 0:11:28
38 Ariya Phounsavath (Lao) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
39 Leonardo Tortomasi (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM 0:11:47
40 Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling 0:12:18
41 Kota Sumiyoshi (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 0:12:37
42 Sandy Hasan (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team 0:12:53
43 Muhammad Ameer Ahmad Kamal (Mas) Malaysia 0:13:16
44 Aiman Cahyadi (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team 0:13:50
45 Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team 0:14:04
46 Cormac Mcgeough (Irl) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling 0:14:45
47 Sofian Nabil Omar Mohd Bakri (Mas) Malaysia 0:14:56
48 Samuele Battistella (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:15:20
49 Burr Ho (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling 0:15:28
50 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors 0:15:50
51 Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling 0:15:51
52 Nik Mohd Azwan Zulkiflie (Mas) Malaysia 0:15:58
53 Juan-Pierre Van der Merwe (RSA) Team Bridgelane 0:16:27
54 Jamalidin Novardianto (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team 0:16:38
55 Bernard Benyamin Van Aert (Ina) PGN Road Cycling Team 0:18:58
56 Dominic Perez (Phi) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team 0:19:08
57 Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (Mas) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 0:19:49
58 Amarni Drake (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
59 Edgar Nohales Nieto (Spa) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team 0:19:52
60 Sarawut Sirironnachai (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team 0:20:34
61 Tristan Ward (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:21:25
62 Fabio Mazzucco (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane 0:21:48
63 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:22:36
64 Ahmet Orken (Tur) Team Sapura Cycling 0:24:31
65 Georgios Bouglas (Gre) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team 0:24:37
66 Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil (Mas) Malaysia 0:24:41
67 Mattia Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM
68 Luca Pacioni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec 0:24:42
69 Hiroki Nishimura (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen 0:25:17
70 Michael Vink (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team 0:25:30
71 Maximilian Richard Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:25:37
72 Justin Mottier (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept 0:25:59
73 Rylee Field (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:26:30
74 Alexandr Semenov (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors 0:27:18
75 Johan Le Bon (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept 0:27:24
76 Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team 0:27:29
77 Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling 0:27:36
78 Alessandro Monaco (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane 0:28:27
79 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Nippo Delko One Provence 0:28:47
80 Dusan Rajovic (Srb) Nippo Delko One Provence
81 Kaito Nakamura (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen 0:30:39
82 Alessandro Pessot (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane 0:30:40
83 Ben Van Dam (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:31:02
84 Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM 0:31:23
85 Taj Jones (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:31:30
86 Siu Wai Ko (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling 0:31:58
87 Mathew Zenovich (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team 0:32:07
88 Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Inc. TSG Cycling Team 0:33:12
89 Mattia Viel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec 0:33:24
90 Simone Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu – KTM 0:33:27
91 Navuti Liphongyu (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team
92 Soonyeong Kwon (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:33:31
93 Alexandr Ovsyannikov (Kaz) Vino – Astana Motors 0:33:39
94 Jihun Kim (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:34:42
95 Andre Looij (Ned) SSOIS Miogee Cycling Team 0:34:44
96 Kakeru Omae (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 0:35:49
97 Anuar Manan (Mas) Malaysia 0:35:55
98 Carter Bettles (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team 0:36:04
99 Jay Dutton (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team
100 Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:36:45
101 Ryu Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen 0:37:02
102 Wan Yau Vincent Lau (HKg) HKSI Pro Cycling 0:37:18
103 Nicola Venchiarutti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec 0:38:43
104 Jaehyun Kim (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:39:53
105 Masahiro Ishigami (Jpn) Nippo Delko One Provence 0:40:41
106 Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) NTT Pro Cycling Team 0:41:14
107 Kookhyun Kim (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:41:32
108 James Harvey (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team 0:41:39
109 Hayato Okamoto (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 0:44:18
110 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bardiani – CSF – Faizane 0:44:37
111 Kyoungho Park (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:44:58
112 Matthew Rice (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:45:32
113 Keigo Kusaba (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 0:46:36
114 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept 0:46:48
115 Gwangho Shin (Kor) KSPO Professional 0:51:40
116 Zack Gilmore (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:53:18
117 Stuart Shaw (Aus) Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:59:27