PUTRAJAYA – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said today that RM8 million has been allocated for Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) which will be happening from September 23 to 30.
The 27th edition of the International Cycling Union ProSeries event will be held over eight stages across 11 states and will cover a total distance of 1,280km.
The National Sports Council (NSC) is back to organise the race taking over from Human Voyage Sdn Bhd.
Among the eight stages, there is a noticeable destination that is missing from the routes listed, Langkawi Island.
“With the RM8 million allocated by the cabinet and the Youth and Sports Ministry, we have tried our best to cover as many states as possible.
“We have been able to get all states in the peninsular to be involved barring Perlis,” said Hannah at a press conference after the Le Tour de Langkawi launch event.
NSC director Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, who was present, said that the inclusion of Langkawi Island will be a huge added cost.
“Including Langkawi Island in the race route will involve high added costs, but the race is still named after the island.
“The logistics of having a stage in Langkawi is also enormous and the route on the island is not comfortable to race.
“This is not the first time that Langkawi has been dropped from the race route, so it is not something that is out of the ordinary,” he said referring to the exclusion of the vacation island from the race routes during the 2016 until 2018 editions.
The high cost of organising previous editions of the LTdL has been reported to be in the region of RM14 to RM20 million ringgit.
With the allocation from the ministry of only RM8 million, Hannah welcomes sponsors who want to get involved.
“I have spoken to corporate sponsors, and we are just waiting for their approval. I know many are waiting for the launch today to see how much they can contribute.
“If there are parties who think they can add value to the race they can get in touch with NSC.
“I have also personally appealed to all the menteri besar involved in each state before the state assembly dissolution and we have asked them to chip in together. I don’t have the exact amount but Terengganu is leading because the race will start in the state.
“At the moment we are working within our current budget. We don’t want to be too ambitious and go to every location in each state but we have tried our best to bring the race to as many states as possible,” she said.
LTdL 2023 Race Routes:
Stage 1 Kerteh - Kuala Terengganu - 184.4km
Stage 2 Kuala Terengganu - Kota Bharu - 186.2km
Stage 3 Jeli - Baling - 177.1km
Stage 4 Bukit Mertajam - Meru Raya - 140km
Stage 5 Slim River - Genting Highlands - 133.3km
Stage 6 Karak - Melaka - 176.6km
Stage 7 Muar - Seremban 2 - 125.7km
Stage 8 Setia Alam - Kuala Lumpur - 157km – The Vibes, July 4, 2023
