Grabbing the first pro win of his career in what is only his second professional race, Colnago CSF Inox rider Marco Canola announced his arrival to the sport today with victory on stage seven of the Tour de Langkawi.
The 23 year old jumped too soon but was strong enough to hold off Joon Yong Seo (Seoul Cycling), Serguy Klimov (RusVelo), Mathieu Claude (Europcar) and Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Cycling). Several other breakaway companions finished just over ten seconds back, while the peloton was one and a half minutes behind at the finish of the race’s longest stage.
“This victory gives me an enormous joy. It is difficult to describe how happy I am,” said the talkative Italian in the post-podium press conference held beside the finish in Kuantan. “At the Tour of Calabria in Italy I did my first race as a professional before coming here; this is only my second race as a pro, and I have already managed to win a stage.
“This doesn’t have the value of a WorldTour race, but it will help me to make myself known. I hope to continue in this way.”
Canola and fifteen others took advantage of the post-Genting atmosphere to break away approximately fifty kilometres into the 205.8 kilometre stage. With the race’s big showdown happening yesterday, there was a slightly different atmosphere to things today and that, together with race leader José Serpa’s Androni Giocattoli – Venuezuela team’s contentment to let a move go, helped ensure that the move stayed clear.
It did take some time and a lot of energy to get it established, though, with an hour of fast racing and constant attacks taking place before the break finally settled into place. Sixteen riders then set about working together, namely that first five of Canola, Yong Seo, Klimov, Clause, Goesinnen, as well as those who would take the top places in the first intermediate sprint prime at Mentakab (km 57.7), namely Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana), Raymond Kreder (Garmin Barracuda), Hassan Suhardi (Malaysa) and Choon Huat Goh (OCBC Singapore).
Also present in the break were Valery Valynin (Rusvelo), Yohann Gene (Europcar), Kenichi Suzuki (Malaysia), Adrien Niyonshuti, Jacques Janse van Rensburg (both MTN Qhubeka) and Joseph Cooper (New Zealand), plus Karl Menzies (United Healthcare), who would puncture out of the move after several kilometres.
Of those, Cooper was best placed but had started the day seventeenth overall, six minutes and 14 seconds back. He was of little threat to the yellow jersey of Serpa, and so the Androni Giocattoli – Venuezuela team eventually gave the move some leeway.
The gap hovered under a minute for quite some time, but finally went up over two minutes at the 100 kilometre mark and then over three by the time they reached the second intermediate sprint, that of Maran (km 117.3). There, Iglinskiy again beat Kreder, Suhardi and Goh to the line.
The Kazakhstan rider took his third intermediate gallop at Gambang (km 164), edging out Suhardi, Cooper and Van Rensburg. All together his haul moved him past triple stage winner Andrea Guardini in relation to the points competition.
The break was four minutes clear at that point, but the peloton then accelerated and this saw the advantage start to reduce.
“I don’t know about the others, but we have done our work.,” said Serpa after the stage. “I have to thank my team for all the work done today…it was really impressive. The highest-ranked breakaway rider was at six minutes, so we kept the breakaway just two minutes ahead of us. That was out goal and we did it.”
Nearing the end, the cooperation of the break changed as it became clear that they were going to stay away. Repeated attacks were fired off until the right one went clear; Canola explained how things played out.
“With three kilometres to go Klimoff attacked and I followed him,” he said. “There were five of us in the lead, and there was good collaboration from the four other riders with me.
“I thought the last curve was closer to the finish line, so after taking the bend in the first position, I saw the 500 metres to go mark, and I thought I’d made a big mistake. But although it was a long sprint, I managed to hold on and I’m pretty happy about that.”
He explained that his victory was due in part to tactics used on stage six. “Yesterday I tried to climb Genting at my own pace. My team manager Roberto Reverberi told me to save myself as much as I could and his advice helped me for today.
“This is what I always try to do - follow the instructions and the advice I am given. I yet have to know in which role I will be the best, as I can do a little bit of everything…I still have to find myself as a rider.”
That may be the case, but taking a big stage victory at 23 years of age suggests that whatever area he focuses on, a good future could lie ahead.
The Tour de Langkawi continues tomorrow with another flat stage. It covers a short 100.8 kilometre distance from Pekan to Chukai, and is likely to come down to a bunch sprint. There, Guardini will seek to win and to wrest the points jersey back from Iglinskiy.
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Tour de Langkawi (2.HC) stage 7: Bentong to Kuantan:
1, Marco Canola (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 04:25:17
2, Joon Yong Seo (Seoul Cycling) same time
3, Sergey Klimov (Team Rusvelo) same time
4, Mathieu Claude (Europcar) same time
5, Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Cycling Team) same time
6, Raymond Kreder (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 00:11
7, Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana Pro Team) same time
8, Suhardi Hassan () same time
9, Yohann Gene (Europcar) same time
10, Kenichi Suzuki () 00:13
11, Choon Huat Goh (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team) same time
12, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Team MTN Qhubeka) same time
13, Joseph Cooper () same time
14, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) 01:35
15, Jacob Keough (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) same time
16, Jani Tewelde Weldegaber (Team MTN Qhubeka) same time
17, Hossein Nateghi (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) same time
18, Hariff Salleh (Terengganu Cycling Team) same time
19, Matteo Pelucchi (Europcar) same time
20, Anuar Manan (Champion System) 01:38
21, Taiji Nishitani () same time
22, Ramin Mizan Maleki (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) same time
23, Christiano Benenati (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) same time
24, Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 01:40
25, Robert Förster (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) same time
26, Nathan Haas (Team Garmin - Barracuda) same time
27, Arin Iswana () same time
28, Endra Wijaya () same time
29, Jae Won Lee (Seoul Cycling) same time
30, Jun Bin Kim (Seoul Cycling) same time
31, Tesfay Habtemariam (Team MTN Qhubeka) 01:42
32, Hao Liu (Max Success Sports) same time
33, Andrey Zeits (Astana Pro Team) same time
34, David Mc Cann (RTS Racing Team) same time
35, Xue Ming Xing (Max Success Sports) same time
36, Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Androni - Venezuela) same time
37, Alexandr Dyachenko (Astana Pro Team) same time
38, Amir Rusli (Drapac Cycling Team) same time
39, Craig Lewis (Champion System) same time
40, Parno Parno () same time
41, Muhamad Adiq Husaine Othman (Champion System) same time
42, Jai Crawford (RTS Racing Team) same time
43, Behnam Khalilikhosroshahi (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) same time
44, Masahiro Shinagawa () same time
45, Jackson Rodriguez (Androni - Venezuela) same time
46, Mohammed Zamri Saleh (Terengganu Cycling Team) same time
47, Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana Pro Team) same time
48, Yasuharu Nakajima () same time
49, Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) same time
50, Thomas Peterson (Team Garmin - Barracuda) same time
51, Dennis Van Niekerk (Team MTN Qhubeka) same time
52, Valery Valynin (Team Rusvelo) same time
53, Freddy Excelino Gonzalez Martinez (Azad University Iran) same time
54, Adrien Niyonshuti (Team MTN Qhubeka) same time
55, Chris Butler (Champion System) same time
56, Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) same time
57, Miguel Angel Nino Corredor (Azad University Iran) same time
58, Alireza Haghi (Azad University Iran) same time
59, Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) same time
60, Artem Ovechkin (Team Rusvelo) same time
61, Agung Ali Syahbana () same time
62, Pengfei Qi (Max Success Sports) same time
63, Alex Howes (Team Garmin - Barracuda) same time
64, Jonathan Monsalve (Androni - Venezuela) same time
65, Niño Victor Corredor (Azad University Iran) same time
66, José Humberto Rujano Guillen (Androni - Venezuela) same time
67, James Williamson () same time
68, Stefano Locatelli (Colnago CSF Bardiani) same time
69, Misbah Rauf Nur () same time
70, Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi () same time
71, Chin Lung Huang (RTS Racing Team) same time
72, Sonny Colbrelli (Colnago CSF Bardiani) same time
73, Christian Delle Stelle (Colnago CSF Bardiani) same time
74, Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Cycling Team) same time
75, Thomas Bertolini (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) same time
76, Carlos José Ochoa (Androni - Venezuela) same time
77, Adam Semple (Drapac Cycling Team) same time
78, Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan (Terengganu Cycling Team) same time
79, Lee Rodgers (RTS Racing Team) same time
80, Assan Bazayev (Astana Pro Team) same time
81, Jung Hwan Youm (Seoul Cycling) same time
82, Adrian Hegyvari (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) same time
83, Chin Lung Huang (RTS Racing Team) same time
84, Mohamed Rizuan Zainal () same time
85, Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) same time
86, Masakazu Ito () same time
87, Dmitry Kozontchuk (Team Rusvelo) same time
88, Ahmad Fallanie Ali () same time
89, Alex Coutts (RTS Racing Team) same time
90, Ting Deng (Max Success Sports) same time
91, Aaron Kemps (Champion System) same time
92, Kevin Reza (Europcar) same time
93, Matteo Rabottini (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) same time
94, Alexander Khatuntsev (Team Rusvelo) same time
95, Abbas Saeidi Tanha (Azad University Iran) same time
96, Michael Torckler () same time
97, Yong Li Ng (Azad University Iran) same time
98, Dadi Suryadi () same time
99, Alfredo Balloni (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) same time
100, Darren Lapthorne (Drapac Cycling Team) same time
101, Malcom Rudolph (Drapac Cycling Team) same time
102, Chan Jae Jang (Terengganu Cycling Team) same time
103, Sukho Kang (Seoul Cycling) same time
104, Alessandro De Marchi (Androni - Venezuela) same time
105, Anthony Charteau (Europcar) same time
106, Rhys Pollock (Drapac Cycling Team) same time
107, Jun Rong Ho (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team) same time
108, Kazuhiro Mori () same time
109, Shinichi Fukushima (Terengganu Cycling Team) same time
110, Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana Pro Team) 02:10
111, Christophe Kern (Europcar) same time
112, Loh Sea Keong (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team) 02:15
113, Jae Won Lee (Seoul Cycling) 02:33
114, Louis Crosby () 02:39
115, Roman Van Uden () 02:51
116, Meran Russom (Team MTN Qhubeka) 01:42
117, Paolo Locatelli (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 03:12
118, David Zabriskie (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 03:25
119, Andrea Di Corrado (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 03:35
DNF: Jaan Kirsipuu (Champion System)
DNF: Nicholas Francesco Squillari (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team)
DNF: Iwan Setiawan ()
DNS: Thomas Danielson (Team Garmin - Barracuda)
General classification after stage 7:
1, Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Androni - Venezuela) 24:38:10
2, José Humberto Rujano Guillen (Androni - Venezuela) 00:30
3, Niño Victor Corredor (Azad University Iran) 00:56
4, Alexandr Dyachenko (Astana Pro Team) 02:20
5, Jackson Rodriguez (Androni - Venezuela) 03:43
6, Stefano Locatelli (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 04:15
7, Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) 04:23
8, Andrey Zeits (Astana Pro Team) 04:28
9, Dennis Van Niekerk (Team MTN Qhubeka) 04:33
10, Joseph Cooper () 04:44
11, Chris Butler (Champion System) 05:09
12, Thomas Peterson (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 05:17
13, Jai Crawford (RTS Racing Team) 05:18
14, Carlos José Ochoa (Androni - Venezuela) 05:53
15, Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 06:02
16, Craig Lewis (Champion System) 06:10
17, Jonathan Monsalve (Androni - Venezuela) 06:13
18, Jani Tewelde Weldegaber (Team MTN Qhubeka) 06:14
19, Artem Ovechkin (Team Rusvelo) 06:32
20, Muhamad Adiq Husaine Othman (Champion System) 06:49
21, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (Team MTN Qhubeka) 07:03
22, Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan (Terengganu Cycling Team) 07:25
23, Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) 07:35
24, Matteo Rabottini (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) 07:47
25, Alessandro De Marchi (Androni - Venezuela) 08:29
26, Jung Hwan Youm (Seoul Cycling) 08:47
27, Michael Torckler () 09:22
28, Marco Canola (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 09:41
29, Sergey Klimov (Team Rusvelo) 10:32
30, Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana Pro Team) 10:50
31, Ramin Mizan Maleki (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) 11:33
32, Dadi Suryadi () 11:52
33, Adrien Niyonshuti (Team MTN Qhubeka) 11:53
34, Kenichi Suzuki () 12:03
35, Anthony Charteau (Europcar) 12:04
36, Dmitry Kozontchuk (Team Rusvelo) 12:17
37, Abbas Saeidi Tanha (Azad University Iran) 12:23
38, Darren Lapthorne (Drapac Cycling Team) 14:03
39, Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi () 14:07
40, Mat Amin Shahrul () 14:17
41, Jae Won Lee (Seoul Cycling) 14:54
42, Alex Coutts (RTS Racing Team) 15:26
43, Masakazu Ito () 15:30
44, Kevin Reza (Europcar) 15:34
45, Nathan Haas (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 15:35
46, Freddy Excelino Gonzalez Martinez (Azad University Iran) 15:38
47, Amir Rusli (Drapac Cycling Team) 16:03
48, Adam Semple (Drapac Cycling Team) 16:28
49, Ting Deng (Max Success Sports) 16:36
50, Taiji Nishitani () 16:43
51, Alexander Khatuntsev (Team Rusvelo) 17:00
52, Agung Ali Syahbana () 17:25
53, Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana Pro Team) 18:18
54, Xue Ming Xing (Max Success Sports) 18:24
55, Chan Jae Jang (Terengganu Cycling Team) 18:45
56, Tesfay Habtemariam (Team MTN Qhubeka) 18:55
57, Sonny Colbrelli (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 19:38
58, Misbah Rauf Nur () 19:40
59, Endra Wijaya () 20:23
60, Yohann Gene (Europcar) 20:45
61, David Mc Cann (RTS Racing Team) 20:51
62, Jun Rong Ho (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team) 20:54
63, Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Cycling Team) 21:23
64, Suhardi Hassan () 21:41
65, Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana Pro Team) 22:05
66, Aaron Kemps (Champion System) 23:46
67, Mathieu Claude (Europcar) 23:48
68, James Williamson () 25:41:00
69, Meran Russom (Team MTN Qhubeka) 25:56:00
70, Shinichi Fukushima (Terengganu Cycling Team) 26:14:00
71, Alfredo Balloni (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) 26:21:00
72, Jacob Keough (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 26:41:00
73, Pengfei Qi (Max Success Sports) 26:52:00
74, Ahmad Fallanie Ali () 27:10:00
75, Christian Delle Stelle (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 27:47:00
76, Lee Rodgers (RTS Racing Team) 27:59:00
77, Mohamed Rizuan Zainal () 28:20:00
78, Hossein Nateghi (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) 29:13:00
79, Alireza Haghi (Azad University Iran) 29:21:00
80, Assan Bazayev (Astana Pro Team) 29:22:00
81, Joon Yong Seo (Seoul Cycling) 29:32:00
82, Thomas Bertolini (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) 29:49:00
83, Roman Van Uden () 30:02:00
84, Robert Förster (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 30:06:00
85, Jae Won Lee (Seoul Cycling) 30:21:00
86, Jun Bin Kim (Seoul Cycling) 30:44:00
87, Miguel Angel Nino Corredor (Azad University Iran) 30:52:00
88, Masahiro Shinagawa () 32:26:00
89, Loh Sea Keong (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team) 33:09:00
90, Matteo Pelucchi (Europcar) 33:20:00
91, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) 33:45:00
92, Christiano Benenati (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) 33:51:00
93, Choon Huat Goh (Ocbc Singapore Continental Cycling Team) 33:56:00
94, Valery Valynin (Team Rusvelo) 34:23:00
95, Yong Li Ng (Azad University Iran) 34:24:00
96, Behnam Khalilikhosroshahi (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) 35:50:00
97, Christophe Kern (Europcar) 35:53:00
98, Yasuharu Nakajima () 37:00:00
99, Arin Iswana () 38:16:00
100, Paolo Locatelli (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 38:44:00
101, Alex Howes (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 38:47:00
102, Malcom Rudolph (Drapac Cycling Team) 38:53:00
103, Hariff Salleh (Terengganu Cycling Team) 39:35:00
104, Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 39:37:00
105, Mohammed Zamri Saleh (Terengganu Cycling Team) 39:41:00
106, Rhys Pollock (Drapac Cycling Team) 39:47:00
107, Kazuhiro Mori () 40:09:00
108, Anuar Manan (Champion System) 40:30:00
109, Andrea Di Corrado (Colnago CSF Bardiani) 41:00:00
110, Parno Parno () 41:15:00
111, Hao Liu (Max Success Sports) 43:03:00
112, Chin Lung Huang (RTS Racing Team) 43:32:00
113, Raymond Kreder (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 43:34:00
114, Sukho Kang (Seoul Cycling) 43:38:00
115, Adrian Hegyvari (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 45:18:00
116, David Zabriskie (Team Garmin - Barracuda) 45:57:00
117, Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis) 46:47:00
118, Chin Lung Huang (RTS Racing Team) 49:07:00
119, Louis Crosby () 50:02:00