THE sixth stage of the 26th Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi got off to a wet start at the Esplanade today as overnight rain continued to fall this morning.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow was among some of the dignitaries to flag off the 104 riders from 20 countries in their 102.4km race from George Town to Alor Star.
He thanked the Youth and Sports Ministry and Petronas for organising the iconic and meaningful event in Malaysia.
“I wish all the riders well and stay safe and finish the race,” Chow said before the flag-off.
Most of the riders were in high spirits despite the inclement weather.
The tour, which was not held over the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is making its second appearance in the UCI ProSeries.
It comprises eight stages, starting from Oct 11 to 18 and covering a total of 1,096.9km.
The stage winners were Gleb Syritsa of Astana Qazaqstan (Stage 1 from Kuala Pilah to Kuala Lumpur – 157.3km), Craig Wiggins of ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast (Stage 2 from Kuala Klawang to Raub – 178.9km), Ivan Sosa of Movistar (Stage 3 from Putrajaya to Genting Highlands – 123.7km), Jakub Mareczko of Alpecin-Deceuninck (Stage 4 from Sabak Bernam to Meru Raya – 137.9km) and Lionel Taminiaux of Alpecin-Deceuninck (Stage 5 from Kuala Kangsar to Kulim – 172km).
Stage 7 will see the riders racing from Kuah to Gunung Raya (90.8km) and Stage 8 will start from Kuah and end in Kuah (115.9km).
There are six UCI world teams, four UCI Pro teams, seven UCI continental teams and three national teams taking part in the tour.
Malaysia is represented by six riders, namely captain Nik Mohd Azwan, Sofian Nabil Omar, Izzat Halil, Khee Zee Yie and brothers Ameen and Ameer Kamal.
“We’ll be cautious because of the rainy weather today. We hope to be on the podium again with three stages left,” Nik Mohd Azwan said before the race. Malaysia had a podium finish in Stage 2 when it emerged as the best Asian team.
Joining Chow at the flag-off were state Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee, state Chief Police Officer Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain and Petronas North and Central head Zulkifli Othman.
Also present were state Financial Officer Zabidah Safar, Penang State Sports Council director Harry Chai and LTdL chief executive officer Shahaizureen A Hamid.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Siew Chia En
Video by Law Suun Ting