IPOH, Sept 26 — Czech Republic cyclist Daniel Babor of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA succeeded in securing Stage Four of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2023 from Bukit Mertajam to Meru Raya, here today.
The 23-year-old rider clinched the victory in his maiden appearance at LTdL, to overcome nine other riders in the last group sprint of the 140.2 kilometres (Km) stage.
“Like we have a very good plan for today and we did it for 100 per cent so for me it is not so unexpected because I have very good guys here. I know I’m not in a good shape but I have my standard but we did very good teamwork today and nice work.
“Yeah it’s a big thing because as I said in the past that I struggle this year but in the final of the season I have a good race and it means a lot for me and for the team,” he said after the race.
Bolton Equities Black Spoke cyclist George Jackson of New Zealand was in the second place while Sasha Weemaes of Belgium (Human Powered Health), came in third.
The race chief judge awarded the same time of 3 hours 6 minutes and 5 seconds to the top 10 riders after they ended the race in a bunch.
At the same time, there was no change in the three main jerseys when Jackson retained the Green Jersey (Overall Leader), Arvid de Kleijn and Simon Pellaud from the Tudor Pro Cycling Team respectively donned the Orange Jersey and Polka Dot jersey (King of the Mountain).
Meanwhile, the White Jersey (Best Asian Rider) changed hands and is now with Thai cyclist Ratchanon Yaowarat (16:01.16s) of Thailand Continental Cycling Team followed by teammate, Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (16:01.20s) and national squad rider, Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli was in third place (16:01.20s).
“Tomorrow is important, it is the Queen Stage. If we push too hard today, we will be totally exhausted tomorrow and that will make it difficult for us. So we save (energy) for tomorrow’s level.
“We don’t use up (energy). We can save it for tomorrow because tomorrow is more important,” according to Nur Aiman who managed to wear the White Jersey in the third stage.
The fifth stage tomorrow is known as the Queen Stage for a distance of 126.4km from Slim River to Genting Highlands, has two acceleration zones in Tanjung Malim and Gombak, in addition to three climbing zones in Rawang Bypass, Bentong, and also Genting Highlands which is a Hors Class climbing zone. — Bernama
