KUALA LUMPUR, October 12 – Colombian Juan Sebastian Molano of UAE Team Emirates claimed Stage 2 of the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2022 winner’s medal but was disqualified afterwards due to what the jury said as “irregular sprinting”.
The decision was made by the President of Commissaire panel hours after Stage 2 had ended in Raub which saw a tight bunch sprint finish involving Molano, Australian Craig Wiggins and General Classification leader Gleb Syritsa of Astana.
With Molano’s disqualification, second-placed rider Craig Wiggins of ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast was promoted as Stage 2 winner while Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jakub Mareczko took the third spot.
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Astana’s Gleb Syritsa remaining in the leader’s yellow and sprint jerseys. Meanwhile, Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team’s Jambaljamts Sanbayar still leads the Asian Best rider category. Thailand Continental Team’s Peerapol Chanwchiangkwang trails closely in second spot.
Local rider Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil was the toast of the national team, bringing cheers to the Malaysian camp after emerging as the stage’s Best Asian rider.
However, Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team’s Muhammad Nur Aiman Zariff, SEA Games gold medallist and LTdL 2020 King of Mountains winner, hogged the limelight after winning today’s two categorised climbs to snatch the mountains classification leader’s jersey from teammate Jambaljamts Sanbayar, and going into tomorrow’s crucial Genting stage with the red jersey on his back.
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Nur Aiman rode well in the early part of the race, winning both categorised climbs at 8.2km in Petasih and Category 3 climb at Bukit Damar (122.8km).
Sanbayar remained as a leader in the Asian category after placing himself third overall in the general classification standings.
“Our plan worked well and I’m happy to be able to head for the decisive stage in Genting tomorrow with the red jersey on my back. I’ll give my all and hopefully, we will able to deliver good results tomorrow,” said Nur Aiman.
Today’s Stage 3 Race
Today’s Stage 3 starts from the administrative capital of Putrajaya, will likely be the decisive stage that could see changes in jersey wearers. The mythical summit of Genting Highlands will be the highlight of the 123.7km stage.
With two climbs before the Gohtong Jaya categorised climb at the 110.6km mark, expect the peloton to split up even before arriving at Genting’s foothill.
Riders face the first intermediate sprint at 32 km mark, then two Category 2 summits at Tekali at 54km and Ampang Look Out Point at km67.2, before heading for Genting’s Hors summit at 1640 metres above sea level.
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RESULTS
STAGE OVERALL
Winner: WIGGINS Craig of ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
2nd place: SYRITSA Gleb of Astana Qazaqstan
3rd place: MARECZKO Jakob of Alpecin-Deceuninck
Overall (Petronas Yellow Jersey): SYRITSA Gleb of Astana Qazaqstan
Sprint (Petronas Green Jersey): SYRITSA Gleb of Astana Qazaqstan
King of Mountain KOM (Proton Red Jersey): Muhamad Nur Aiman MOHD ZARIFF of Polygon Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG)
Best Asian Rider (KBS White Jersey): SAINBAYAR Jambaljamts of Polygon Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG)
