News

The PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi is one of the most prominent Asian races at the end of the season. As part of the UCI ProSeries, the second tier of world cycling, the event attracts several UCI WorldTeams and UCI ProTeams, who are looking for UCI points, especially in the numerous sprint finishes that are expected.

The race, first held in 1996, is named after Langkawi Island, where the first stage takes place. However, it is actually a tour of Malaysia, as from the second of the eight race days, the race leaves the small island and visits other parts of the country.

Route

As mentioned, the race consists of 8 stages, with a strong focus on sprint finishes. The general classification will be decided in the only mountain stage of the race on the third day, which includes the climbs of KG Raja (19.1 km at 3.6%) and Brinchang (8.2 km at 5.1%) in the final part. The next day, the climb to Gap (18.9 km at 3.1%) is followed by almost 100 flat kilometers, making it likely to end in a sprint. The remaining stages are mostly flat and should deliver 6 more sprints.

Favorites

Max Poole (600), Hugh John Carthy (200), Mikel Bizkarra (200), Joan Bou (200), Harold Lopez (200), Paul Double (200), and the 2023 race winner Simon Carr (200) are among the favorites for the mountain stage and GC.

For the sprints, Arvid de Klein (400), Casper Van Uden (400), Jakub Mareczko (200), Matteo Malucelli (200), Manuel Peñalver (200), and George Jackson (200) are expected to be the fastest contenders.

Photo: © PETRONAS Tour de Langkawi