Netting second place in two out of the day’s three intermediate sprints, Androni Giocattoli rider Jonnatha Monsalve moved two seconds clear of overnight leader Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua) in the Tour de Langkawi. The 21 year old, who is precisely half the age of his rival, ended the day in yellow thanks to his efforts in the sprints at Bahau (km 18.7) and Gemencheh (km 122.7).
The final gallop of the day was to the line in Jasin and there the German sprinter Robert Forster made up for his disappointed second place yesterday. He grabbed a fine victory for the American United Healthcare team, beating friend and competitor André Schulze (CCC Polstat Polkowice) to the line.
“It's the first victory of the season, it's a great feeling,” he said. “I changed team this year and worked hard in the winter, but the winter in Germany was very cold. So I had some problems in the first three or four stages but now the legs are good.”
A numbers of riders were clear during the stage and inside the final 15 kilometres, six were off the front. From this group Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Professional Cycling) soloed ahead in the closing minutes, but was finally reeled in with just over a kilometre to go. Forster thanked his team for helping ensure he was perfectly positioned after that recapture.
“There was some great work by the team – they went to the front in the last kilometre so I could have a good sprint,” he said.
Earlier in the stage, Monsalve made his own explosive efforts in chasing the yellow jersey. He had started the rain-lashed stage two seconds behind his Colombian rival, but moved level on time when he was runner-up in the first intermediate sprint at Bahau (km 18.7). He then pulled two seconds clear when he was second in at Gemencheh (km 122.7). Nino Corredor fought to stay in the lead but could only take fourth in the second gallop.
Monsalve was both delighted and relieved. “I must thank my team for the good work that has been done since the beginning of the stage,” he said. “At the first hotspot sprint I managed to finish second and got a two second bonus that made me equal on time with Libardo. Then the team worked again to take me to the second hotspot sprint and since I was second again there, I got another second and now I’m the leader of Le Tour de Langkawi.”
Battling the elements:
The day began under dark skies and long before the riders moved out from the start village of Kuala Pilah, it started raining heavily. That remained the situation for the rest of the day, although as Forster would point out after the finish, the temperatures helped the riders to cope better than they might have. “It’s been rainy but it’s not cold…24 degrees, so nobody is cold,” he said. “It makes it a hard race, but it’s not so hard like 20 degrees below.”
There was an aggressive start but things remained together until after the first intermediate sprint at Bahau (km 18.7). Boris Shpilevsky (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) was first to the line there; behind, crucially, Monsalve beat team-mate Luca Barla to earn a two second time bonus. This moved him level on time with race leader Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua).
Albert Timmer (Skil Shimano) picked up the King of the Mountain prime at Jempol (km 27.4) and was then third behind Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team) in the day’s second and final KOM sprint at Palong (km 50.3). He continued moving towards the top of that classification, although Monsalve and Rahim Emami (Azad University Cycling team) still remain ahead of him.
David Pell (Drapac Professional Cycling) attacked midway through the stage and established a two and a half minute lead by kilometre 90. However the Androni team were riding behind and by the time Pell took the intermediate sprint at Gemencheh (km 122.7), he was just one minute and six seconds ahead of the next riders, new race leader Monsalve and Dennis Van Niekerk.
He was eventually caught and dropped by Omar Lombardi (Colnago CSF Inox Pro) and Andrei Krasilnikau (Chipotle Development Team); Lombardi then pushed ahead temporarily with Pierre Quemeneur (Team Europcar) and Benjamin Gourgue (Landbouwkrediet).
After they were brought back, six others tried. Geert Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet), Gu Jang Kyung (Korea National Team), Koen de Kort (Skil Shimano) and Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Professional Cycling) were present and took the first four placings in the day’s final intermediate sprint at Selandar.
Goesinnen then clipped away inside the final 15 kilometres, digging deep to try to stay clear, but was hauled back with just over a kilometre to go.
Schulze and Forster duelled it out for the win, and the latter took the honours. Monsalve was equally happy at the finish, ending the day with the yellow jersey. However despite having a stronger team than Nino Corredor, he is taking nothing for granted.
“I cannot say that I have won the race,” he said, responding to a question about whether the general classification was now settled. “The team will for sure work a lot in the last two stages. I cannot say I am the winner until I cross the finish-line in Kuala Lumpur.”
He holds a two second advantage heading into tomorrow’s penultimate stage, the 151.7 kilometre race from Melaka to Nilai. Aside from one category four King of the Mountains climb, it features three categorised sprints and should see more scrapping between the first two riders in the general classification. The final outcome of this race could well go down to the sprints on the final stage.
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Tour de Langkawi (UCI World Tour), Jan 23 – Feb 1:
Stage 8, Saturday January 30th:
1, Robert Forster (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) 156.5 kilometres in 3 hours 23 mins 32 secs
2, André Schulze (CCC Polsat Polkowice)
3, Dene Rogers (Giant Kenda Pro Cycling Team)
4, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini-Neri Sotttoli)
5, Boris Shpilevsky (Tabriz Petrochemical Team)
6, Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano)
7, Chan Jae Jang (Korea National Team)
8, Joeri Stallaert (Landbouwkrediet)
9, Elia Favilli (Farnese Vini-Neri Sotttoli)
10, Mohd Harrif Salleh (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling)
11, Anuar Manan (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling)
12, Shinpei Fukuda (Aisan Racing Team)
13, Omar Lombardi (Colnago-CSF Inox)
14, Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Professional Cycling)
15, Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano)
16, Christoff Van Heerden (MTN Qhubeka)
17, Hamid Shirisisan (Suren Cycling Team)
18, Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua Cycling Team)
19, Takeaki Ayabe (Aisan Racing Team)
20, Alireza Haghi (Azad University Cycling Team)
Proton Sprint # 1 (Bahau, km 18.7):
1, Boris Shpilevsky (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) 5 pts
2, Jonathan Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli) 3
3, Luca Barla (Androni Giocattoli) 2
4, Alireza Haghi (Azad University Cycling Team) 1
Proton Sprint # 2 (Gemerncheh, km 122.7):
1, David Pell (Drapac Professional Cycling) 5 pts
2, Jonathan Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli) 3
3, Dennis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka) 2
4, Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua Cycling Team) 1
Proton Sprint # 3 (Selandar, km 141.2):
1, Geert Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet) 5 pts
2, Gu Jang Kyung (Korea National Team) 3
3, Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano) 2
4, Floris Goesinnen (Drapac Professional Cycling) 1
KOM prime # 1 (Cat 4 at Jempol, km 27.4):
1, Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) 4 pts
2, Hyosuk Gong (Korea National Team) 2
3, Antonio Santoro (Androni Giocattoli) 1
KOM prime # 2 (Cat 4 at Palong, km 50.3):
1, Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team) 4 pts
2, Othman M. Adiq (Drapac Professional Cycling) 2
3, Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) 1
Asian riders:
1, Chan Jae Jang (Korea National Team) at 3 hours 23 mins 32 secs
2, Mohd Harrif Salleh (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling)
3, Anuar Manan (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling)
4, Shinpei Fukuda (Aisan Racing Team)
5, Hamid Shirisisan (Suren Cycling Team)
6, Takeaki Ayabe (Aisan Racing Team)
7, Alireza Haghi (Azad University Cycling Team)
8, Zainal Mohd Nur Rizuan (Malaysia National Team)
9, Meysam Ameli (Suren Cycling Team)
10, Darren Low (Singapore National Team)
Teams:
1, Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli, 10 hours 10 mins 36 secs
2, Aisan Racing Team
3, Colnago CSF INOX Pro
4, United Healthcare Pro Cycling
5, Terengganu ProAsia Cycling
6, Skil Shimano Cycling Team
7, Malaysia National Team
8, Tabriz Petrochemical Team
9, Landbouwkrediet
10, Suren Cycling Team
11, Azad University Cycling Team
12, MTN Qhubeka
13, Androni Giocattoli
14, Korea National Team
15, Chipotle Development Team, all same time
Asian teams:
1, Aisan Racing Team 10 hours 10 mins 36 secs
2, Terengganu ProAsia Cycling
3, Malaysia National Team
4, Suren Cycling Team
5, Azad University Cycling Team
6, Korea National Team, all same time
7, Singapore National Team at 20 secs
8, Tabriz Petrochemical Team
9, Max Success Sports Cycling, both same time
General classification after stage 8:
1, Jonathan Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli) 25 hours 3 mins 12 secs
2, Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua Cycling Team) at 2 secs
3, Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli) at 21 secs
4, Dennis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka) at 23 secs
5, Rahim Emami (Azad University Cycling Team) at 24 secs
6, Lachlan Morton (Chipotle Development Team) at 29 secs
7, Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) at 46 secs
8, Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) at 54 secs
9, Hyosuk Gong (Korea National Team)
10, Ghader Mizbani (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) at 1 min 12 secs
11, Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar) at 1 min 45 secs
12, Jose Mendes (CCC Polsat Polkowice) at 1 min 46 secs
13, Alex Howes (Chipotle Development Team) at 2 mins 0 secs
14, Amir Zargari (Azad University Cycling Team) at 2 mins 16 secs
15, Kirk Carlsen (Chipotle Development Team) at 2 mins 23 secs
16, Markus Eibegger (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) at 2 mins 37 secs
17, Alex Coutts (Giant Kenda Pro Cycling Team) at 2 mins 59 secs
18, Mirsamad Pourseyedi G. (Azad University Cycling Team) at 3 mins 17 secs
19, Gu Jang Kyung (Korea National Team) at 3 mins 30 secs
20, Perrig Quemeneur (Team Europcar)
Points classification:
1, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini-Neri Sotttoli) 96 pts
2, Anuar Manan (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling) 75
3, Boris Shpilevsky (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) 65
4, André Schulze (CCC Polsat Polkowice) 55
5, Chan Jae Jang (Korea National Team) 47
6, Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano) 45
7, Robert Forster (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) 40
8, Mohd Harrif Salleh (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling) 39
9, Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano) 38
10, Christoff Van Heerden (MTN Qhubeka) 34
Mountains classification:
1, Jonathan Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli) 45 pts
2, Rahim Emami (Azad University Cycling Team) 35
3, Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) 30
4, Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua Cycling Team) 28
5, Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) 25
6, Lachlan Morton (Chipotle Development Team) 18
7, Mirsamad Pourseyedi G. (Azad University Cycling Team) 18
8, Mehdi Sohrabi (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) 16
9, Dennis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka) 14
10, Pengda Jiao (Max Success Sports Cycling) 14
Asian riders classification:
1, Rahim Emami (Azad University Cycling Team 2) at 5:3 mins 36 secs
2, Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) at 30 secs
3, Hyosuk Gong (Korea National Team)
4, Ghader Mizbani (Tabriz Petrochemical Team) at 48 secs
5, Amir Zargari (Azad University Cycling Team) at 1 min 52 secs
6, Mirsamad Pourseyedi G. (Azad University Cycling Team) at 2 mins 53 secs
7, Gu Jang Kyung (Korea National Team) at 3 mins 6 secs
8, Pengda Jiao (Max Success Sports Cycling) at 3 mins 26 secs
9, Gang Xu (Max Success Sports Cycling) at 3 mins 53 secs
10, Yukihiro Doi (Skil-Shimano) at 4 mins 46 secs
11, Ramin Mehrabani Azar (Suren Cycling Team) at 4 mins 53 secs
12, Takeaki Ayabe (Aisan Racing Team) at 5 mins 59 secs
13, M. Saufi Mat Senan (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling) at 6 mins 1 secs
14, Hui Zhang (Max Success Sports Cycling) at 6 mins 3 secs
15, Yong Li Ng (Le Tua Cycling Team) at 8 mins 11 secs
Teams classification:
1, Azad University Cycling Team, 75 hours 13 mins 57 secs
2, Tabriz Petrochemical Team, at 4 secs
3, Chipotle Development Team, at 32 secs
4, Androni Giocattoli, at 5 mins 55 secs
5, Max Success Sports Cycling, at 9 mins 55 secs
6, Korea National Team, at 17 mins 52 secs
7, Team Europcar, at 20 mins 46 secs
8, Terengganu ProAsia Cycling, at 21 mins 15 secs
9, Skil Shimano Cycling Team, at 24 mins 47 secs
10, Giant Kenda Pro Cycling Team, at 25 mins 3 secs
11, Colnago CSF INOX Pro, at 26 mins 23 secs
12, Landbouwkrediet, at 28 mins 0 secs
13, Team Champion System, at 29 mins 20 secs
14, Suren Cycling Team, at 34 mins 35 secs
15, United Healthcare Pro Cycling, at 37 mins 28 secs
Asian teams classification:
1, Azad University Cycling Team, 75 hours 13 mins 57 secs
2, Max Success Sports Cycling, at 9 mins 55 secs
3, Tabriz Petrochemical Team, at 14 mins 23 secs
4, Korea National Team, at 17 mins 52 secs
5, Terengganu ProAsia Cycling, at 21 mins 15 secs
6, Suren Cycling Team, at 34 mins 35 secs
7, Aisan Racing Team, at 47 mins 24 secs
8, Malaysia National Team, at 1 hours 12 mins 19 secs
9, Singapore National Team, at 1 hours 17 mins 39 secs
10, Le Tua Cycling Team, at 1 hours 28 mins 54 secs