KUALA LUMPUR – After a one-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2022 is back to thrill fans and will see six World Tour teams, four Pro Continental teams, 11 Continental outfits, and one national team compete in Asia’s premier cycling race.
Scheduled from October 11 to October 18, former LTdL winner Ryan Gibbons is among the names to watch as he returns with the UAE Team Emirates World Tour outfit for the 26th edition of the race.
The South African won in 2017 as a neo-pro with Team Dimension Data and his familiarity with the Malaysian terrain and weather will definitely put him among the favourites at the race’s start in Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan.
Since its inception since 1996, South African riders have made an impact in the Tour, winning four overall titles since 2005 – Ryan Cox (2005), David George (2006), Reinardt van Rensburg (2016), and Gibbons (2017).
The 28-year-old will be aiming to be the first South African rider to win LTdL overall title twice. After four seasons with Team Dimension Data, Gibbons raced in his first Tour de France in 2020 with NTT Pro Cycling Team before joining the UAE team last year to compete in more major races in Europe.
He is expected to help boost his team’s points in the UCI ranking as they currently sit in third place, having amassed 11,893 points, and are behind Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers.
Gibbons will be leading the team’s challenge in the Tour, along with Kiwi climber George Bennet for the general classification, while the experienced Rui Costa and Juan Sebastien Molano will compete in the points challenge.
Bennet, 32, will be another leading general classification contender in this year’s peloton. Having raced five times in Tour de France and being a pro since 2012, he has also raced seven times in Vuelta.
Portuguese Costa is among the oldest riders in the pack at 36 and will be gunning for some great moments this year, which will be his swansong after seven years with Team Emirates.
Having raced in nine Tour de France editions with three stage wins under his belt, Costa has been a pro since 2007 and is the first Portuguese to win the world championship in 2013.
With its high reputation in the World Tour circuit, UAE Team Emirates, which boasts two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia, is among the 22 teams confirmed for the eight-day race.
Apart from UAE Team Emirates, the other World Tour teams slated for the race are Cofidis (France), Lotto Soudal (Belgium), EF Education-EasyPost (United States), Movistar (Spain), and Astana-Qazaqstan (Kazakhstan).
LTdL 2022 chief operating officer Shahaizereen Abdul Hamid said this year’s Tour will be one of the most interesting and competitive races as some of the World Tour teams are scrambling for winning points to avoid relegation from next season’s World Tour set-up.
“The participation of these top-class teams will make this year’s edition one of the best ever organised in terms of quality and participation of the world’s leading teams where it will present world-class competition to local and foreign cycling fans,” he said in a statement.
Alpecin-Deceuninck from Belgium, which is currently the best placed Pro Continental team in the rankings at 11th, is expected to mount a serious challenge, followed by regular outfit Drone Harper-Androni Giacattoli from Italy and Uno-X Pro Cycling from Norway.
The UCI Continental Teams will be represented by Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team, Team Sapura Cycling, Indonesia’s Mula Cycling Team and Roojai Cycling Team, Australia’s Ara Pro Racing Sunshine Coast, China Glory Continental Cycling Team, ProTouch from South Africa, and Pro Cycling from Kuwait.
Regional teams include the Malaysian national team, Thailand Continental Team, Team Ukyo from Japan, and 7-Eleven Cliqq Air from the Philippines.
LTdL 2022 runs over a challenging route of 1,183km, starting from Kuala Pilah in Negri Sembilan on October 11 and ending with two back-to-back stages which include the Gunung Raya mountaintop finish in Langkawi on October 17.
This year’s race will start with Stage 1 from Kuala Pilah to Kuala Lumpur for a distance of 157.3km; Stage 2 Kuala Klawang-Raub (178.9km); Stage 3 Putrajaya-Genting Highlands (123.7km); Stage 4 Sabak Bernam-Meru Raya (137.9km); Stage 5 Kuala Kangsar-Kulim (172.0km); Stage 6 George Town-Alor Star (120.8km); Stage 7 Kuah-Gunung Raya (90.8km) and Stage 8 Loop Langkawi (115.9km). – The Vibes, September 14, 2022
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