Le Tour de Langkawi 2020 – Stage 8 [FULL STAGE]

February 14, 2020

Le Tour de Langkawi 2020 – Stage 8 – Dataran Lang – Kuah : 108,5 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.

Italy’s Danilo Celano (Team Sapura) won the 25th edition of the Le Tour de Langkawi, with Max Walscheid (NTT Pro Cycling) doubling up on the island of Langkawi on the final stage after his first stage win in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The bunch split in two parts on several occasions during the 108km stage and Celano was seen at the back before the race came back together, helping the Italian secure overall victory.

“I woke up with fever this morning and I didn’t think I’d be able to finish the first lap of the circuit,” Celano revealed. “But my team believed in me more than I did myself and I eventually managed to get through it.”

Walscheid and NTT Pro Cycling were more in control despite the climb on the final circuit.

“It feels amazing to win today because it was a hard stage in hot conditions on a difficult finishing circuit,” Walscheid explained.

“I’m a pure sprinter but the team believed in my capabilities to overcome the climb. We played it very well with [Samuele] Battistella at the front until a few metres before the line and Michael Carbel led me out very well. Since it’s Valentine’s Day today, this victory is also for my girlfriend.”

Battistella, along with Serbian national champion Dusan Rajovic (Nippo-Delko One Provence), bridged the gap to Cyril Gautier (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) and Aiman Cahyadi (PGN), the leftovers of the breakaway of the stage to shake-up the finale. The last two attackers were reeled in by the reduced peloton in the last kilometre of racing.

Luca Pacioni (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) took second place behind Walscheid, with 19-year-old Australian Taj Jones (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) third.

Celano became the first Italian overall winner of Le Tour de Langkawi since Paolo Lanfranchi in 2001, joining compatriots Luca Scinto (1997) and Gabriele Missaglia (1998), who also claimed the yellow jersey that goes with the winner’s Eagle trophy (Lang, from Langkawi, means Eagle).

Compared to 88 stage wins by Italian riders in 240 stages contested in Le Tour de Langkawi, Germany had not shined much under the scorching Malaysian sun, with only four stage victories through Jan Bratkowski (2001), Danilo Hondo (2008), Marcel Kittel and Robert Förster (2011). Walscheid took two in this year’s race.

“It’s been a great trip to Malaysia,” Walscheid said, also winning the points classification like his compatriot Steffen Radochla in 2006.

“We still have one race to come [the 1.1 Malaysian International Classic on February 15] but beyond the results, we’ve raced very well together as a group during this whole week.”

The 25th Tour de Langkawi revealed the talent of several young riders. 19-year-old Yevgeniy Fedorov from Vino Astana Motors and Taj Jones won stages 1 and 2 and were still in the mix on the last day, with the Kazakhstani attacking in the last climb before securing his second place overall and best Asian. Jones ended the race with two third places, his stage 2 victory and a show of huge potential for the future.

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

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