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.
 2023 Tour de Langkawi | |
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | February–March (1996–2020) September (2023) October (2022) |
| Region | Peninsular Malaysia |
| English name | Tour of Langkawi |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI ProSeries |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | Malaysian National Cycling Federation |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1996 |
| Editions | 27 (as of 2023) |
| First winner | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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
Points classification
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Mountains classification
Asian rider classification
Team classification
Asian team classification
| Year | Based | Team name |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 |  | Philippines (national team) |
| 1999 |  | Malaysia (national team) |
| 2000 |  | Japan (national team) |
| 2001 | | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2002 | | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2003 |  | Iran (national team) |
| 2004 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2005 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2006 | | Japan (national team) |
| 2007 |  | Giant Asia Racing Team |
| 2008 |  | Seoul Cycling Team |
| 2009 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2010 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2011 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2012 |  | Astana |
| 2013 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2014 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2015 |  | Pegasus Continental Cycling Team |
| 2016 |  | Wisdom–Hengxiang Cycling Team |
| 2017 | | Vino–Astana Motors |
| 2018 | | Astana |
| 2019 | | Vino–Astana Motors |
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2022 | ||
References
- "Tour de Langkawi". FirstCycling.com. 2023.
- "Tour du Langkawi (Mal) - Cat.2.ProS". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- "Wan Lokman seeks a tour de force in cycling meet". New Straits Times. 3 March 1996. p. 13. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Abt, Samuel (21 February 1997). "3 Pro Teams Balk at Logistics in Asian Bike Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Tan, Anthony (9 February 2003). "Bongiorno triumphs in KL; Danielson safely home". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Tan, Anthony. "Sprintless finale to first day". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Johnson, Greg (23 January 2008). "Fraser's Hill replaces Langkawi's Genting". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Ishak, Fadhli (18 November 2020). "Le Tour de Langkawi cancelled due to Covid-19". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- "LTdL 2022 postponed to October due to clash of dates: Ahmad Faizal". www.thesundaily.my. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- Rajan, K. (27 July 2023). "World body removes LTdL from international calendar". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- TIMESPORT (27 July 2023). "LTdL will go on as scheduled". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- TIMESPORT (1 August 2023). "Malaysia's most famous cycling race back in UCI's good books". New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- Ishak, Fadhli (16 August 2023). "LTdL competing teams to be paid upfront". New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
External links
- Tour de Langkawi at cyclingnews.com
- Tour de Langkawi at cyclingarchives.com
- Tour de Langkawi at the-sports.org
- Tour de Langkawi at cqranking.com