Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) once again got to throw his hands into the air in victory at the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi, with the three-time 2024 winner clinching the triumph on stage 1 and clearly demonstrating he is once again the sprinter to watch right from the word go.
Malucelli came across the line ahead of Eriend Blikra (Uno- Mobility) and Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling) was third. It was the perfect beginning for Malucelli, last year riding for JCL Team Ukyo but who now also has the benefit of a WorldTour team behind him. Last year he rode into Kuah in fourth, but this time there was no stopping him from taking the win.
"Every year is different, so I was hoping this year would be different," Malucelli told reporters, including Cyclingnews, after the stage, recounting how the opening effort followed a missed opportunity in 2024.
"Now we start with the right mode, the best mode, and for sure, we will try to continue in this direction.
"We know that now we have a lot of responsibility as a team day by day, so it was important to win. We win the first stage, and now everybody is more relaxed."
It was an early kick off for Sunday’s stage 1 which started and finished in Kuah, taking in a 96.7km loop of the island that the race was named after.
The peloton headed out of the urban surrounds of Kuah to sweep by scenic beaches and the rich forests of Langkawi, home to the UNESCO listed geopark, before wrapping it all up with some punchy climbs through the final 20km that including a short but sharp category 4 ascent at just over 13km to go.
It took some time for the main break of the day to establish in the wet conditions that hit early in the stage. Nuir Aiman Rosli (Terengganu Cycling), Adrien Maire (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Nate Hadden (St George) and George Matsui (Aisan Racing), were the ones to make a move that stuck, sweeping up all the intermediate sprint points in the stage between them.
The four riders, however, were swept up before the final quarter of the stage and while there were some digs on the final climbs – where Ben Carman (St George) secured the KOM points on the cat 4 ascent and therefore the first climbers' jersey – but ultimately it was all kept together for the run to the line, with a bunch sprint deciding the stage just a little after 10am local time.
"It's never an easy sprint in cycling but our plan was for (Lev) Gonov and (Aaron) Gate to lead out and watch what happened with Tudor and UNO-X, because for sure, they have a super strong teams for the lead out for (Alexander) Kristoff and De Kleijn," said Malucelli in the post-podium interview. "I said to my teammates that if I was behind a super team, like UNO X or Tudor, I prefer to be alone and follow De Kleijn or Kristoff. And Gate put me in the wheels of Kristoff 500 meters from the finish."
It was, however, Kristoff's teammate Blikra and Tudor's De Kleijn who launched with force but Malucelli was quick to react, overtaking both. Kristoff, who is chasing the final wins of his career, finished fifth behind Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Polti VisitMalta).
Malucelli also claimed the overall and points lead while Nuir Aiman Rosli (Terengganu Cycling) took out the best Asian rider category. The peloton of 129 riders then journeyed over to Peninsular Malaysia to take on the remaining seven stages of the Tour de Langkawi.
