CAMERON HIGHLANDS: An in-form Max Poole moved into the green jersey (general classification) after claiming a close win in the third stage of Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today (Oct 1).
What had been labeled as the tour's queen stage this year was not quite tough enough to split the top GC men and the stage, which started in Taiping and ended in Cameron Highlands (170.3km), ended in a sprint finish among climbers.
Poole (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) outkicked his rivals to take the stage win in four hours, 24 minutes and 34 seconds. Astana Qazaqstan's Harold Lopez and JCL Team Ukyo's Thomas Pesenti took second and third in a group of 11 riders.
Defending champion Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost) was dropped from the peloton just over eight km from the finish.
Poole, who earned 10 bonus seconds for his win, now leads the general classification with a five second advantage over second-placed Lopez. Pesenti is third, six seconds adrift of Poole.
Poole was visibly delighted to clinch his first-ever stage win.
The Briton has been in solid form this year and managed four podium finishes in stages at Vuelta a Espana last month.
"I had some really good guys around me and we came up with a good plan and tried to execute it. We had to stay patient," said Poole.
"I managed to (briefly) get away with two Astana guys (Lopez and Anthon Charmig) but it came back to a sprint.
"I knew it was going to be slightly uphill to the line, ideally I should have gone a bit later, but I was just a few wheels back and I had good speed so I just ran with it and was able to hold on.
"For sure, it is very nice to finally get my first stage win."
Poole also moved into the lead in the climbers classification (polka dot jersey) as his win earned him 15 points. Charmig is second on 12 points.
Meanwhile, Terengganu Cycling Team's (TSG) Nur Aiman Rosli found the going tough as he struggled with a hip injury he picked up in a crash yesterday. He crossed the line 68th (+10:03s) and subsequently lost the white jersey (Asian riders classification) to Ukyo's Manabu Ishibashi.
Malaysia Pro Cycling's (MPC) Syawal Mazlin was the highest placed Malaysian rider on the day, crossing the line 44th (+4:43s).
It was a bittersweet moment for the Cameron Highlands native, who collected discarded bottles from LTdL riders when they passed through the resort town during his childhood days.
"I was able to stay with the WorldTour riders until the last 30km but they were just in a different class in the final section," said Syawal.
"It has been my dream to race in LTdL since I was a child and to do it in my hometown makes it even more special.
"It is, however, a little bittersweet as my grandfather was waiting to watch me race here. Unfortunately he passed away just three days before the tour started."
The battle in the GC is far from over as there are more climbs, albeit less challenging, to look forward to in the fourth and fifth stages.
The fourth stage tomorrow will see the riders starting in Kuala Kubu Bharu and ending in Bentong, covering 131.2km. There will be one categorised climb at The Gap (cat one) and three intermediate sprints at Raub, Sungai Ruan and Sungai Klau.
RESULTS STAGE THREE:
Stage three: 1. Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) 4:24:34s 2. Harold Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan) 3. Thomas Pesenti (JCL Team Ukyo) 4. Anthon Charmig (Astana Qazaqstan) 5. Unai Iribar (Equipo Kern Pharma)-- all same time.
General classification (green jersey): 1. Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) 10:03:58s 2. Harold Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan) +5s 3. Thomas Pesenti (JCL Team Ukyo) +6s 4. Unai Iribar (Equipo Kern Pharma) +11s 5. Fernando Tercero (Team Polti Kometa) +11s
Asian riders classification (white jersey): 1. Manabu Ishibashi (JCL Team Ukyo) 10:06:07s 2. Keigo Kusaba (Aisan Racing Team) +2:45s 3. Masahiro Ishigami (Aisan Racing Team) +2:45s
(continues in next post)
fadhli ishak, [1/10/2024 5:25 PM]
Sprinters classification (orange jersey): 1. Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team Ukyo) 22 points 2. Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) 20pts 3. Manuel Penalver (Team Polti Kometa) 17pts
Climbers classification (polka dot jersey): 1. 1. Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) 15 pts 2. Anthon Charmig (Astana Qazaqstan) 12 pts 3. Harold Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan) 11 pts