Featuring an expansion from seven to ten days of racing plus a return to the stunning holiday island of Langkawi, details of the 16th edition of the Tour de Langakwi were unveiled today in Malaysia.
The 2.HC-ranked event will begin on the island on January 23rd 2011, getting underway with a 91.9 kilometre opening stage starting and finishing in Kuah town. It will follow a mainly flat parcours which will appeal to sprinters and breakaway specialists, but days four and five feature back to back summit finishes, which are certain to completely reshuffle the general classification.
The first of those will be a 136 kilometre stage from Air Tawar in Lumut to the Cameron Highlands, while the following day will see the return of the gruelling, always-dramatic Genting Highlands. This 128 kilometre stage is longer than usual and will be vital for those who have aims on taking the final yellow jersey to the race’s conclusion at the Dataran Merdeka circuit in Kuala Lumpur.
"This will be the surprise awaiting riders of Le Tour de Langkawi 2011,” said Youth and Sports Ministry Head Secretary General, Dato' Mohid Mohamad earlier today, speaking at the launch. “I hope this will give a dramatic new chapter to the history of Le Tour de Langkawi.”
While the difficulty of those two stages will heavily favour the climbers, he explained that there will be plenty to entice the other riders to be aggressive during the race. “Although there are two Hors category climb stages, there are another eight flat stages for riders who are still not recognized climbing experts to contest.”
The lengthening of the race follows what was considered a well-run edition earlier this year. The Tour de Langkawi had experienced several years of financial instability but got back on track in February, with the race being co-ordinated in a very professional manner.
A tightening of the budget saw it drop to nine days in 2008 and just seven in 2009 and 2010, but it has now reverted to the traditional duration of ten days. A total of 23 teams, including those at ProTour, pro continental, continental and national level are expected to make up next year’s peloton.
Part of the reason for the success of the 2010 edition was the jump in performance seen by the Malaysian riders, and Asian riders in general. Anuar Manan was one of the fastest sprinters in the race and triumphed in stage five to Port Dickson, while Japanese road race champion Taiji Nishitani outsprinted the entire field one day earlier into Parit Sulong.
They brought the total tally of Asian stage winners in the race to seven, with the fact that two happened in one year showing how things have been picking up. Manan reinforced his new status as a big star in Malaysian sport when his consistency saw him win the points jersey.
“2010 witnessed the magic of Anuar Manan who became the first Malaysian rider to win a stage in Le Tour de Langkawi, and the first Asian rider to win the overall sprint jersey after 15 years of organizing this Tour,” said Dato' Mohid Mohamad. “It is a great achievement for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.”
The organisers also said today that the race was given official recognition by the UCI that it was very well run. This further reflects the improving nature of the organization.
In all, the 2011 edition will cover 1308.9 kilometres. It will feature stage finishes in Kuah, Butterworth, Sitiawan, Cameron Highlands, Genting Highlands, Putrajaya, Tampin, Melaka, Nilai and Kuala Lumpur. More details of the line-up will be released closer to the event.
Venezuelan rider José Rujano (ISD Neri) won this year’s race.
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Tour de Langkawi 2011 (January 23rd – February 1st)
Stage 1, Kuah - Kuah, Langkawi, 91.9 kilometres
Stage 2, Kangar - Butterworth, 145 km
Stage 3, Taiping - Sitiawan, 144.3km
Stage 4, Air Tawar, Limut - Cameron Highlands, 136km
Stage 5, Tapah - Genting Highlands, 128km
Stage 6, Rawang - Putrajaya, 105km
Stage 7, Banting - Tampin, 149.5km
Stage 8, Kuala Pilah - Melaka, 152km
Stage 9, Melaka - Nilai, 152.4km
Stage 10, Shah Alam - Kuala Lumpur (Dataran Merdeka circuit), km 104.8