Tour de Langkawi

The Tour de Langkawi is a multiple stage bicycle race held in Malaysia.[1] It is named after the archipelago Langkawi, where the first edition started and finished. The race has been held annually since 1996, primarily in February.[2] It usually consists of 10-day-long segments (stages) over 10 days, but has been reduced to eight stages over recent years. While the route changes each year, the Genting Highlands climb, the toughest in the tour, is always included. Tour de Langkawi is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC road race in the UCI Asia Tour calendar. The race became part of the UCI ProSeries in 2020.

Tour de Langkawi
2023 Tour de Langkawi
Race details
DateFebruary–March (1996–2020)
September (2023)
October (2022)
RegionPeninsular Malaysia
English nameTour of Langkawi
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI ProSeries
TypeStage race
OrganiserMalaysian National Cycling Federation
Web sitewww.ltdlangkawi.my
History
First edition1996 (1996)
Editions27 (as of 2023)
First winner Damian McDonald (AUS)
Most wins Paolo Lanfranchi (ITA)
 José Serpa (COL)
(2 wins)
Most recent Iván Sosa (COL)

For 2023 edition, the race will be held on 23 September to 30 September 2023. This year the National Sport Council (MSN) will be the organiser of the event. The race involves eight stages of racing over eight days across 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia with a total distance of 1,280 kilometers.

All stages are timed to the finish. Times for each completed stage are compounded; the rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to wear the yellow jersey. While the general classification garners the most attention, there are other contests held within the Tour: the points classification for sprinters, the mountains classification for climbers, the Asian rider classification for Asian riders, the team classification for competing teams, and the Asian team classification for competing Asian teams.

History

The Tour de Langkawi was conceived by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad to put Malaysia "on the world sporting and tourism map".[3] The first race was held in 1996. It was Asia's richest bicycle race[4] with total prize money of RM1.1 million.[3]

In 1997, the teams Mapei–GB and MG Maglificio–Technogym from Italy and the team Casino from France refused to participate in the second stage of the Tour as a protest against long delays in the delivery of their bicycles and luggage caused by insufficient numbers of cargo handlers at provincial airports in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Organisers officially cancelled the second stage, though an unofficial shortened version was held.[4] Since then, the race has never re-visited Sabah or Sarawak, except for the 2020 edition.

The final stage of the race was cancelled twice due to heavy rain in 2003[5] and 2006.

During the first stage in 2004, police allowed vehicles onto the course by mistake. Riders mutually decided to neutralise the stage.[6]

In 2008, the Genting Highlands climb stage was replaced by Fraser's Hill. Due to 150,000 visitors converging on the Genting Highlands resort area to celebrate Chinese New Year, officials would not be able to close roads along the race route to insure the safety of riders and the public.[7] The Genting Highlands climb stage returned to the Tour in 2009.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 race that was supposed to happen between January 30 to February 6 was cancelled after initial consideration of postponement to September in the same year.[8] The event made its return in 2022, initially scheduled from March 3 to 10 but was then postponed twice, first to June 11 to 18, then again to October 11 to 18.[9]

The 2023 race was taken off from the UCI calendar after the UCI received complains from teams of not receiving payments for appearance fees and flight tickets from the 2022 race. Malaysia National Cycling Federation vice president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said that the race will go on as scheduled and he will get a clearer picture of the situation during the world body's board meeting.[10][11] In August 2023, the UCI agreed to reinstate the race in its calendar, with the National Sports Council making key changes on payments to participants from the 2023 race onwards.[12][13]

Past winners

General classification

Year Country Rider Team
1996  Australia Damian McDonald Giant–AIS
1997  Italy Luca Scinto MG Maglificio–Technogym
1998  Italy Gabriele Missaglia Mapei–Bricobi
1999  Italy Paolo Lanfranchi Mapei–Quick-Step
2000  United States Chris Horner Mercury Cycling Team
2001  Italy Paolo Lanfranchi Mapei–Quick-Step
2002  Colombia Hernán Darío Muñoz Colombia–Selle Italia
2003  United States Tom Danielson Saturn Cycling Team
2004  Colombia Fredy González Colombia–Selle Italia
2005  South Africa Ryan Cox Barloworld
2006  South Africa David George South Africa (national team)
2007  France Anthony Charteau Crédit Agricole
2008  Moldova Ruslan Ivanov Diquigiovanni–Androni
2009  Colombia José Serpa Diquigiovanni–Androni
2010  Venezuela José Rujano Androni Giocattoli
2011  Venezuela Jonathan Monsalve Androni Giocattoli
2012  Colombia José Serpa Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela
2013  Colombia Julián Arredondo Team Nippo–De Rosa
2014  Iran Samad Pourseyedi Tabriz Petrochemical Team
2015  Algeria Youcef Reguigui MTN–Qhubeka
2016  South Africa Reinardt Janse van Rensburg Team Dimension Data
2017  South Africa Ryan Gibbons Team Dimension Data
2018  Russia Artem Ovechkin Terengganu Cycling Team
2019  Australia Benjamin Dyball Team Sapura Cycling
2020  Italy Danilo Celano Team Sapura Cycling
2021 No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022  Colombia Iván Sosa Movistar Team

Points classification

Year Country Rider Team
1996  Australia Damian McDonald Giant–AIS
1997  Italy Luca Scinto MG Maglificio–Technogym
1998  United States Fred Rodriguez Saturn Cycling Team
1999  New Zealand Graeme Miller New Zealand (national team)
2000  Canada Gordon Fraser Mercury Cycling Team
2001  Italy Paolo Bettini Mapei–Quick-Step
2002  South Africa Robert Hunter Mapei–Quick-Step
2003  Australia Graeme Brown Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo
2004  Canada Gordon Fraser Health Net–Maxxis
2005  Australia Graeme Brown Ceramica Panaria–Navigare
2006  Germany Steffen Radochla Wiesenhof–AKUD
2007  Italy Alberto Loddo Diquigiovanni–Selle Italia
2008   Switzerland Aurélien Clerc Bouygues Télécom
2009  Italy Mattia Gavazzi Diquigiovanni–Androni
2010  Malaysia Anuar Manan Geumsan Ginseng Asia
2011  Italy Andrea Guardini Farnese Vini–Neri Sottoli
2012  Italy Andrea Guardini Farnese Vini–Selle Italia
2013  Italy Francesco Chicchi Vini Fantini–Selle Italia
2014  Lithuania Aidis Kruopis Orica–GreenEDGE
2015  Australia Caleb Ewan Orica–GreenEDGE
2016  Italy Andrea Guardini Astana
2017  South Africa Ryan Gibbons Team Dimension Data
2018  Italy Andrea Guardini Bardiani–CSF
2019  United States Travis McCabe Floyd's Pro Cycling
2020  Germany Max Walscheid NTT Pro Cycling
2021 No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022  Norway Erlend Blikra Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

Mountains classification

Year Country Rider Team
1996  Great Britain Chris Newton Great Britain (National Team)
1997  Italy Luca Scinto MG Maglificio–Technogym
1998  South Africa Douglas Ryder South Africa (national team)
1999  Italy Alessandro Petacchi Navigare–Gaerne
2000  Mexico Julio Alberto Pérez Ceramica Panaria–Gaerne
2001  Italy Paolo Lanfranchi Mapei–Quick-Step
2002  Colombia Ruber Marín Colombia–Selle Italia
2003  Canada Roland Green Canada (national team)
2004  Colombia Ruber Marín Colombia–Selle Italia
2005  South Africa Ryan Cox Barloworld
2006  South Africa David George South Africa (national team)
2007  Colombia Walter Pedraza Diquigiovanni–Selle Italia
2008  Italy Filippo Savini CSF Group–Navigare
2009  Colombia José Serpa Diquigiovanni–Androni
2010  Australia Peter McDonald Drapac–Porsche Cycling
2011  Venezuela Jonathan Monsalve Androni Giocattoli
2012  Colombia José Serpa Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela
2013  China Wang Meiyin Hengxiang Cycling Team
2014  Ireland Matt Brammeier Synergy Baku
2015  United States Kiel Reijnen UnitedHealthcare
2016  China Wang Meiyin Wisdom–Hengxiang Cycling Team
2017  Denmark John Ebsen Infinite AIS Cycling Team
2018  Colombia Álvaro Duarte Forca Amskins Racing
2019  Australia Angus Lyons Oliver's Real Food Racing
2020  Malaysia Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff Team Sapura Cycling
2021 No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022  Malaysia Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team

Asian rider classification

Year Country Rider Team
1998  Indonesia Tonton Susanto Indonesia (national team)
1999  Japan Hideto Yukinari Japan (national team)
2000  Hong Kong Wong Kam-po Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team
2001  Hong Kong Wong Kam-po Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team
2002  Indonesia Tonton Susanto Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team
2003  Japan Tomoya Kano Japan (national team)
2004  Iran Ghader Mizbani Iran (national team)
2005  Japan Koji Fukushima Bridgestone-Anchor
2006  Iran Hossein Askari Giant Asia Racing Team
2007  Iran Ghader Mizbani Giant Asia Racing Team
2008  Japan Shinichi Fukushima Meitan Hompo-GDR
2009  Indonesia Tonton Susanto LeTua Cycling Team
2010  South Korea Gong Hyo-Suk Seoul Cycling Team
2011  Iran Rahim Emami Azad University Iran
2012  Kazakhstan Alexsandr Dyachenko Astana
2013  China Wang Meiyin Hengxiang Cycling Team
2014  Iran Samad Pourseyedi Tabriz Petrochemical Team
2015  Japan Tomohiro Hayakawa Aisan Racing Team
2016  Malaysia Adiq Husainie Othman Terengganu Cycling Team
2017  Japan Hideto Nakane Nippo–Vini Fantini
2018  Kazakhstan Yevgeniy Gidich Astana
2019  Kazakhstan Vadim Pronskiy Astana City
2020  Kazakhstan Yevgeniy Fedorov Vino–Astana Motors
2021 No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022  Mongolia Sainbayaryn Jambaljamts Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team

Team classification

YearBasedTeam name
1996AustraliaGiant–AIS
1997ItalyMG Maglificio–Technogym
1998ItalyMapei–Bricobi
1999ItalyMapei–Quick-Step
2000United StatesMercury Cycling Team
2001ItalyMapei–Quick-Step
2002ItalyMapei–Quick-Step
2003ColombiaColombia–Selle Italia
2004United KingdomBarloworld
2005United KingdomBarloworld
2006ColombiaSelle Italia–Diquigiovanni
2007Chinese TaipeiGiant Asia Racing Team
2008VenezuelaDiquigiovanni–Androni
2009VenezuelaDiquigiovanni–Androni
2010IranTabriz Petrochemical Team
2011IranTabriz Petrochemical Team
2012ItalyAndroni Giocattoli–Venezuela
2013South AfricaMTN–Qhubeka
2014South AfricaMTN–Qhubeka
2015IndonesiaPegasus Continental Cycling Team
2016United StatesUnitedHealthcare
2017AustraliaIsoWhey Sports SwissWellness
2018ItalyWilier Triestina–Selle Italia
2019CanadaFloyd's Pro Cycling
2020MalaysiaTeam Sapura Cycling
2021No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022SpainMovistar Team

Asian team classification

YearBasedTeam name
1998PhilippinesPhilippines (national team)
1999MalaysiaMalaysia (national team)
2000JapanJapan (national team)
2001MalaysiaTelekom Malaysia Cycling Team
2002MalaysiaTelekom Malaysia Cycling Team
2003IranIran (national team)
2004IranIran (national team)
2005IranIran (national team)
2006JapanJapan (national team)
2007Chinese TaipeiGiant Asia Racing Team
2008South KoreaSeoul Cycling Team
2009IranIran (national team)
2010IranTabriz Petrochemical Team
2011IranTabriz Petrochemical Team
2012KazakhstanAstana
2013IranTabriz Petrochemical Team
2014IranTabriz Petrochemical Team
2015IndonesiaPegasus Continental Cycling Team
2016ChinaWisdom–Hengxiang Cycling Team
2017KazakhstanVino–Astana Motors
2018KazakhstanAstana
2019KazakhstanVino–Astana Motors
2020
2021No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022

References

  1. "Tour de Langkawi". FirstCycling.com. 2023.
  2. "Tour du Langkawi (Mal) - Cat.2.ProS". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. "Wan Lokman seeks a tour de force in cycling meet". New Straits Times. 3 March 1996. p. 13. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  4. Abt, Samuel (21 February 1997). "3 Pro Teams Balk at Logistics in Asian Bike Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  5. Tan, Anthony (9 February 2003). "Bongiorno triumphs in KL; Danielson safely home". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  6. Tan, Anthony. "Sprintless finale to first day". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  7. Johnson, Greg (23 January 2008). "Fraser's Hill replaces Langkawi's Genting". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  8. Ishak, Fadhli (18 November 2020). "Le Tour de Langkawi cancelled due to Covid-19". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  9. "LTdL 2022 postponed to October due to clash of dates: Ahmad Faizal". www.thesundaily.my. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  10. Rajan, K. (27 July 2023). "World body removes LTdL from international calendar". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  11. TIMESPORT (27 July 2023). "LTdL will go on as scheduled". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  12. TIMESPORT (1 August 2023). "Malaysia's most famous cycling race back in UCI's good books". New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  13. Ishak, Fadhli (16 August 2023). "LTdL competing teams to be paid upfront". New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
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