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Tour of Langkawi 2004

SHANE STOKES REPORTING FROM LANGKAWI:

MORIARTY SEVENTH ON FINAL STAGE OF TDL: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 15) Eugene Moriarty today concluded the impressive Irish campaign at the Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi with another top ten finish in the 2.2 ranked event. The Kerry rider crossed the line metres after the stage winner Ruben Bongiorno (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres), placing seventh in the concluding 73.7 kilometre Kuala Lumpur criterium. There were two Irish riders in the top 15, with Philip Deignan sprinting home in 14th place.

Bongiorno triumphed in a frenzied charge to the line, taking the victory ahead of Gregory Henderson (Health Net Pro), Matteo Carranta (Lampre), Ivan Quaranta (Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave), and climber-turned-galloper Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia). Perez’s team-mate Freddy Gonzalez completed the stage without mishap and ran out as winner of the 2004 edition, finishing 48 seconds clear of Team Barloworld’s Ryan Cox.

David McCann and Philip Deignan took a total of 32 UCI world ranking points for their fine showing in the overall classification, finishing 14th and 16th respectively. The Irish team’s showing earned considerable praise during the ten day event, with a couple of pro outfits promising to keep track of Deignan’s results this season and the squad also gaining an invite to the Capa Tour in South Africa.

Today’s flat, spectator thronged course saw a number of attacks gain temporary success, with David O’Loughlin and David McCann going away in small groups. O’Loughlin and one other rider attempted to bridge to an early three-man breakaway, but were recaptured, while McCann later went clear with Scott Moninger (Health Net Pro) and Jurgen Van De Walle (Chocolade Jacques). The Belfast rider sprinted home ahead of Moninger and De Walle to take the third Hot Spot sprint of the day.

However with the sprinter’s teams all attentive, McCann’s flat out effort was negated with just two laps remaining, paving the way for the big bunch sprint and Bongiorno’s victory.

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi, stage 10 (Kuala Lumpur criterium): 1, Ruben Bongiorno (Ceramiche Panaria Margres) 73.7 kilometres in 1 hour 38 mins 6 secs; 2, G. Henderson (Health Net Pro); 3, M. Carrara (Lampre); 4, I. Quaranta (Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave); 5, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia); 6, H. Maleki (Iran); 7, E. Moriarty (Hibernian Team Ireland); 8, E. Grigoli (De Nardi); 9, D. Impey (South Africa); 10, G. Vanderaerden (MrBookmaker.com Palmans-Collstrop) all same time

Other Ireland riders: 14, P. Deignan; 36, D. McCann; 79, D. Lynch; 83, D. O’Loughlin; 85, P. Griffin, all same time. Asian rider: Maleki

Team stage: 1, De Nardi; 2, Colombia Selle Italia; 3, Health Net Pro

Final general classification: 1, Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) 27 hours 14 mins 46 secs; 2, Cox, at 48 secs; 3, Bruylandts, at 1 min 54 secs; 4, Kannemeyer, at 1 min 55 secs; 5, George, at 2 mins 11 secs; 6, White, at 2 mins 12 secs; 7, Marin, at 2 mins 22 secs; 8, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 2 mins 30 secs; 9, Green, at 3 mins 45 secs; 10, G. Mizbani (Iran) at 4 mins 2 secs

Irish: 14, McCann, at 5 mins 18 secs; 16, Deignan, at 6 mins 54 secs; 56, Griffin, at 25 mins 48 secs; 65, Lynch, at 32 mins 25 secs; 68, O’Loughlin, at 33 mins 39 secs; 102, E. Moriarty, at 48 mins 42 secs

Points: 1, Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) 105 points; 2, G. Vanderaerden (MrBookmaker.com/Palmans Collstrop) 70; 3, Perez, 65

Mountains: 1, Marin, 57; 2, Gonzalez, 40; 3, Perez, 34

Team: 1, Team Barloworld; 2, Colombia Selle Italia; 3, Relax Bodysol. Other: 10, Ireland

Day 9 - The Toughest Stage

Some pictures in from Pat McQuaid

Bunch lines up at Telekom HQ

2 Selle italias on final slopes of climb

The Italians passing the finish line

David McCann finishing 19th

Philip Deignan finishing 22nd

Denis Lynch finishing 50th

MARIN WINS, GONZALEZ BACK IN YELLOW; McCANN, DEIGNAN STRONG: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 14) As anticipated, today’s penultimate stage of the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia was a climber’s paradise for the Colombia Selle Italia team, with two of its riders dominating the gruelling, mist-shrouded climb to the resort of Genting Highlands. King of the Mountains leader Ruber Marin and team captain Freddy Gonzalez rode within themselves on the early part of the 26 kilometre climb, which is one of the hardest summit finishes in cycling, before turning on the afterburners with three kilometres remaining and shedding all of their main rivals. Marin and Gonzalez crossed the line arms aloft, with the former taking the stage victory and the latter virtually guaranteeing his victory when the race ends tomorrow with a criterium in Kuala Lumpur.

Both riders had in theory been dedicated to protecting the overall lead of team-mate Marlon Perez, who went into the stage 36 seconds clear of Hector Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) and a further ten clear of Gonzalez. However, after looking good during the early part of the climb, Perez got into difficulties and slid off the back of the ever-reducing front group, eventually finishing three minutes and ten seconds down in twelfth place.

Irish riders David McCann and Philip Deignan rode well on the torturously steep slopes, McCann finishing three minutes and fifty seconds behind Marin in nineteenth place. Deignan was three places and twenty-four seconds further back, while Paul Griffin (43rd), Denis Lynch (50th), David O’Loughlin (84th) and Eugene Moriarty (97th) played a supporting role and all got through the gruelling stage.

Today’s good result means that McCann and Deignan are both set to take world ranking points from the race. Barring accident, McCann will finish fourteenth overall tomorrow and Deignan sixteenth, both excellent performances against professional teams. Deignan’s ride in particular has attracted a lot of attention due to his youth, the twenty-year old taking two sixth places and that top-twenty GC position and showing that he is one of Irish cycling’s brightest prospects for the future.

Today’s stage was always going to be about the sadistic final kilometres, but that didn’t stop a number of opportunists trying to outwit the climbers. After a short-lived attack from an unnamed (on race radio) Irish rider, eleven riders went clear at the twenty-one kilometre point. These were reeled in almost immediately but six kilometres later another identically sized group went clear. Amongst those present in this move were Jans Koerts (Chocolade Jacques), Jeremy Hunt (MrBookmaker.com/ Palmans Collstrop), Ryan Cox (Team Barloworld), former world under 23 TT champion Danny Pate (Health Net Pro) and Ireland’s Eugene Moriarty, yet despite the promising composition these too were recaptured.

At the 54 kilometre point twelve riders slipped away and worked well together to build a maximum lead of one minute and four seconds. The Hibernian Team Ireland squad also had a representative in this, Denis Lynch spending a total of 45 kilometres away before being reeled in.

With thirty kilometres remaining the Canadian national champion Dominique Perras played his hand and led the race, until being passed by De Nardi’s Michele Gobbi on the early slopes of Genting Highland. With nineteen kilometres left on the stage the Italian had built a lead of over one minute; Wismilak’s Susanto Tonton set off in pursuit, motivated in part by his second place in the Asian rider classification, and by the 115 kilometre point was almost a minute clear of the dwindling front group. However a smooth-pedalling Gobbi had opened out his own lead to two and a half minutes and so would not be joined.

China rider Xueli Jiang did what he could to get across to the two leaders before a general acceleration started the real race behind. Relax Bodysol’s Hector Guerra Garcia went south, so losing his second place overall, but thoughts that Perez was home and dry soon dispersed when he too went into the red. Cox and ninth placed Dave Bruylandts (Chocolade Jacques) did what they could to shed the rest, and when Gonzalez and Marin slid to the back of the small group it looked as if Colombia Selle Italia’s plan B was also shot. Appearances were, however, deceptive. The duo sparked their own move with three kilometres remaining, accelerating clear and cruising home over half a minute clear of Bruylandts and Cox. South African champion David George and Tiaan Kannemeyer completed a Team Barloworld fourth, fifth and sixth, while former world MTB champion Roland Green (Canada) was next across the line.

McCann and Deignan completed their good ride to the top of the climb and, barring accidents on tomorrow’s final stage, have done enough to guarantee top twenty finishes in the general classification. The Hibernian Team Ireland squad can take pride in this, and also in the fact that they were highly prominent throughout the race and in the stage-end results. Theirs was a late invitation; next time round, they should be much more prominent in the minds of the organisers of this excellent event.

‘It was very difficult to know what would happen but it all worked out well for us’, said the new race leader Freddy Gonzalez. ‘Even when Marlon got dropped we knew we could sew it up because both Ruber and myself felt very strong. We had a plan of campaign worked out before the start and it all well to plan, although the South African Team Barloworld did give us some worries and looked strong. We launched our final attack with three kilometres to go, which was a bit earlier than was planned, and it all worked out well.’

The Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi concludes tomorrow with a twelve lap, eighty kilometre criterium on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi stage nine, Telekom HQ Kuala Lumpur – Genting Highlands: 1, Ruber Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 130.2 kilometres in 3 hours 37 mins 15 secs (35.96 kph) ; 2, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) same time; 3, D. Bruylandts (Chocolade Jacques) at 37 secs; 4, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) same time; 5, D. George (Team Barloworld) at 1 min 16 secs; 6, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) at 1 min 18 secs; 7, R. Green (Canada) at 1 min 36 secs; 8, N. White (South Africa) at 1 min 51 secs

Hibernian Team Ireland riders: 19, D. McCann, at 3 mins 50 secs; 22, P. Deignan, at 4 mins 14 secs; 43, P. Griffin, at 9 mins 12 secs; 50, D. Lynch, at 10 mins 14 secs; 84, D. O’Loughlin, at 16 mins 7 secs; 97, E. Moriarty, at 20 mins 9 secs

Asian rider: 1, G. Mizbani (Iran) 3 hours 39 mins 8 secs; 2, A. Kazemi (Iran) at 1 min 20 secs; 3, X. Jiang (China) at 1 min 39 secs

Team stage: 1, Colombia Selle Italia; 2, Team Barloworld; 3, Iran, Other: 9, Ireland, Asian team: 1, Iran; 2, China; 3, Pagcor-Casino Filipino

General classification after stage nine: 1, Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) 27 hours 14 mins 46 secs; 2, Cox, at 48 secs; 3, Bruylandts, at 1 min 54 secs; 4, Kannemeyer, at 1 min 55 secs; 5, George, at 2 mins 11 secs; 6, White, at 2 mins 12 secs; 7, Marin, at 2 mins 22 secs; 8, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 2 mins 30 secs; 9, Green, at 3 mins 45 secs; 10, G. Mizbani (Iran) at 4 mins 2 secs

Points: 1, Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) 105 points; 2, G. Vanderaerden (MrBookmaker.com/Palmans Collstrop); 3, Perez, 54

Mountains: 1, Marin, 57; 2, Gonzalez, 40; 3, Perez, 34

Team: 1, Team Barloworld; 2, Colombia Selle Italia; 3, Relax Bodysol. Other: 10, Ireland

DEIGNAN SIXTH IN FRENZIED BUNCH GALLOP: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 13) The Hibernian Team Ireland squad took their fourth top ten placing of the Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi today when the highly promising 20 year old Philip Deignan sprinted home an excellent sixth. The Donegal rider crossed the line in the same time as Luciano Pagliarini of the Lampre team, who scooped his second successive win in the 2.2 ranked race. Enrico Degano, Graeme Brown and points leader Gordon Fraser were second, third and fourth in an aggressive, dangerous bunch finish which saw several riders hit the deck before the line. Ireland’s David McCann was one of the fallers but as the crash occurred inside the final kilometre, he was credited with the same finishing time as the main bunch. He thus remains in eleventh place overall going into tomorrow’s toughest stage, with Deignan twentieth. See Pictures

Following his fine tenth and fifth-place finishes earlier in the race, Eugene Moriarty was designated team sprinter for today’s stage and benefited from good support from the other riders. The team guided Moriarty towards the front as the final kilometres ticked by, but his ambition of landing a top three finish disappeared when he was boxed in during a hair-raising final kilometre. Switches, shoves and shoulders were all used to try to influence the outcome, to the net effect that several riders fell, including McCann. Moriarty lost out when a surge occurred on the other side of the speeding bunch, but Deignan was perfectly placed to follow the wheels and take a placing he didn’t expect.

‘I’m not a sprinter, I was floating around near the front to help Eugene and also to stay out of trouble’, he said afterwards. ‘I was following wheels and the way things worked out, I ended up going for it.’

‘It was messy coming in. I was in about twentieth place with one kilometre to go. A Panaria rider moved up so I got onto his wheel, and then from there got onto Fraser’s wheel with about 500 metres remaining. I just went from there and ended up sixth.’

As has been the case on almost every day of the race, the day began with a succession of attacks. The day’s sole categorised climb after 14 kilometres saw race leader Marlon Perez put the hammer down in order to lead out his team-mate - and KOM leader – Ruber Marin. Marin duly scooped top points and then shortly afterwards went on the attack with seven others.

Former under 23 world time trial champion Danny Pate (Health Net Pro) decided this octet wasn’t working well enough and surged clear of this group, but the entire field was back together by the second Petronas sprint of the day at 31 kilometres. There, MrBookmaker.com/Palmans Collstrop rider Gert Vanderaerden replicated the result of the first sprint when he led points leader Gordon Fraser across the line.

Within one kilometre of the sprint two riders went clear. Michael Sayers (Health Net Pro) and Peter Wedge of the Canadian national team opened up a 26 second lead, a gap which was successfully crossed by Jianshi Luo (China) to make it three up front. With 50 of the day’s 96 kilometres remaining the trio had almost two minutes in hand over the field. The peloton, however, put the hammer down and halved this advantage within a few kilometres and, sensing the game was up, Sayers went back to the peloton. The other two found themselves back in the fold shortly afterwards and, although a group of five riders briefly got clear with 25 kilometres remaining, nothing was going to stop the second big bunch finish of the race.

Pagliarini duly delivered for the second day running, taking the stage by half a wheel from Degano. Deignan had to freewheel momentarily with about 200 metres remaining when a rider came in on top of him, but was able to get the gear going again and take his second sixth-place finish of the race. Moriarty was sixteenth, with Griffin (61st), Lynch (76th) and O’Loughlin (89th) also crossing the line in the same time. McCann came in about a minute later, cuts on his elbow and knee testimony to his fall, but was given the bunch time due to the location of his tumble and so remains eleventh overall. He will begin tomorrow’s toughest stage to the 1716 metre summit at Genting Highlands as Ireland’s best-placed rider, two minutes and eight seconds behind Perez. Deignan is a further one minute and twelve seconds down in twentieth place.

Like the riders, team manager Frank Campbell knows tomorrow is the Ireland team’s big day. ‘It’s going to be a really, really important stage. We have consolidated our position all week, not losing any time apart from in the time trial, and are very happy with that. It was unfortunate that David was in a crash but he seems to be okay.’

Other post stage quotes:

Luciano Pagliarini (Lampre), 1st: ‘All sprints are a bit crazy and wild. I had luck yesterday and today in getting position and was able to take advantage of that. You’ve got to do it when you get the chance.’

On being asked if he can win Milan San Remo: ‘I’ll do what I can to be ready for the race. It is hard to judge my chances – there are good sprinters here but not Pettachi, Zabel, Cipollini. I have good form but when I get to San Remo it will be difficult to win.’

Marlon Perez Race Leader Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia), race leader: ‘Tomorrow is a big day for the team. I’m feeling good, my legs were strong today. I’d like to thank my team-mates for all they did to work for me today and the past couple of days. I hope tomorrow goes well for us and we get to keep the jersey.’

Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro), 4th: ‘The Healthnet Maxis team did a great job for me today. They set things up nicely, I got Graeme Brown’s wheel but his leadout didn’t go when he should have. I was caught out a bit by that.’

‘The sprint was really physical. There were no hands off the bars but there was headbutting, for the sake of headbutting. Luciano got through on the right wheel, I didn’t see what happened between him and Degano as I was too busy trying to stay upright.’

‘Perhaps my team went a little bit soon but we will get it right eventually. It might not be here, maybe back in the US, but it will pay off for us.’

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi stage 8, Port Dickson – Shah Alam: 1, Luciano Pagliarini (Lampre) 96.4 kilometres in 2 hours 1 min 3 secs; 2, E. Degano (Team Barloworld); 3, G. Brown (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres); 4, G. Fraser (Health Net Pro); 5, G. Gasparre (De Nardi); 6, P. Deignan (Hibernian Team Ireland); 7, G. Vanderaerden (MrBookmaker.com/Palmans Collstrop); 8, S. Sama’I (Wismilak) all same time. Other Hibernian Team Ireland: 16, E. Moriarty; 61, P. Griffin; 76, D. Lynch; 89, D. O’Loughlin; 97, D. McCann, all same time Asian rider: 1, Sama’I; 2, M. Mohd Sayuti (Malaysia); 3, A. Catalan (Pagcor-Casino Filipino) both same time See Pictures

General classification: 1, Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) 23 hours 36 mins 51 secs; 2, H. Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) at 36 secs; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 46 secs; 4, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) at 51 secs; 5, N. White (South Africa) at 101 secs; 6, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) at 1 min 17 secs; 7, K. Van De Wouwer (Palmans-Collstrop) at 1 min 19 secs; 8, D. George (South Africa) at 1 min 35 secs; 9, D. Bruylandts (Chocolate Jacques) at 2 min 01 secs; 10, J. Florencio Cabre (Relax Bodysol) at 2 mins 7 secs

Irish: 11, McCann, at 2 mins 8 secs; 20, Deignan, at 3 mins 20 secs; 59, Griffin, at 17 mins 16 secs; 67, O’Loughlin, at 18 mins 12 secs; 84, Lynch, at 22 mins 51 secs; 103, Moriarty, at 29 mins 13 secs

Points: 1, Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) 100 points; 2, G. Vanderaerden (Mr Bookmaker.com/Palmans Colstrop) 56; 3, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) 50

Mountains: 1, Perez, 33; 2, R. Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 32; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) 20

Teams : 1, Team Barloworld ; 2, Colombia Selle Italia ; 3, Relax Bodysol. Other: 10, Ireland

Best Asian rider: 1, G. Mizbani (Iran), 23 hours 39 mins 40 secs; 2, S. Tonton (Wismilak), at 58 secs; 3, A. Kazemi (Iran), at 2 mins 11 secs. Best Asian team: 1, Japan; 2, Iran; 3, China

PAGLIARINI ROMPS HOME ON STAGE SEVEN: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 12) Unleashing a perfectly-timed burst in the final metres of the stage, Italian sprint specialist Luciano Pagliarini (Lampre) was a popular winner of today’s seventh leg of the Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi. The affable Brazilian came off the wheel of rival Graeme Brown (Ceramiche Panaria) inside the last 100 metres of the 167 kilometre stage, thundering by the Australian to take his fourth ever sprint victory in the event. Health Net Pro team rider Gordon Fraser edged out Brown for second, while Enrico Degano (Team Barloworld), Michele Gobbi and Graziano Gasparre (both De Nardi) completed the top six. See pictures here..

Hibernian Team Ireland’s Eugene Moriary had gone into the stage with high morale and real determination to better his excellent fifth place of yesterday. The Irish team did a good job of trying to prepare Moriarty for the sprint into Melaka but in the hustle and bustle of the final three kilometres, their plans went somewhat off course. Firstly the team were forced to go the long way round a traffic island, losing their place towards the front. Then the peloton found themselves heading straight for a policeman who had been charged with the task of alerting the bunch to danger, but who somewhat inexplicably chose to stand slap bang in the middle of the road. While the misjudgement caused a crash, Moriarty stayed upright. However, the accident caused chaos in the bunch and amid all the switching, he found himself too far back and fighting to make up lost ground. The Kerry rider crossed the line in a respectable fifteenth place but, after yesterday’s fifth place finish, he was disappointed with the result.

‘The team did a great ride to try to set me up but it just didn’t work out today’, he said. ‘There was a huge amount of switching going on in the final few kilometres. We ran wide on one of the bends and had to go around a traffic island, losing about 15 or 20 places. When that policeman was hit, it caused chaos.’

Moriarty was in good form early on in the flat stage, going clear with a group of six others 24 kilometres after the start in Pontian. The group worked well together to build a lead of over one minute but when teams behind organised a chase, this advantage started to tumble. At the 40 kilometre mark it was 40 seconds; ten kilometres later, the move had been reeled in.

Japanese national champion Shinichi Fukushima took advantage of the lull in action to launch a brave solo bid. Ploughing on alone into the hot headwind, he build a two minutes-plus lead over the main bunch, which was being led by the tempo-riding Colombia-Selle Italia team of yellow jersey holder Marlon Perez. With fifty kilometres remaining four riders raced clear and got to within 40 seconds of Fukushima. However Paul Griffin (Hibernian Team Ireland), Devis Miorin (De Nardi), Peter Wuyts (MrBookmaker.com/Palmans Collstrop) and Michael Sayers (Health Net Pro) were reabsorbed by the peloton shortly afterwards.

While it was clear that the sprinters’ teams had the situation under control, Fukushima gamely soldiered on, maintaining his lead right up until the five kilometre to go board. As he drifted out the back of the bunch, the speed ramped right up and the jostling for positions began. The Hibernian Team Ireland squad had planned to give their all to get Moriarty into place but things didn’t work out as planned. He was caught too far back and came in fifteenth, finishing four seconds behind Pagliarini, Fraser, Brown and Degano.

‘The way things worked out was pretty frustrating’, said Moriarty. ‘But there are two days left where sprint finishes are likely so I have other chances.’

One rider who certainly had no regrets was stage winner Pagliarini. ‘All day there was a lot of wind…I knew heading into the finish that I would have to sprint at the very last moment,’ he said. ‘When I came into the finishing straight, I calculated which way the wind was coming and left it to the very last minute to come around (Graeme) Brown.’

‘After my victories last year, the team has a lot of confidence in me; our team was very disappointed with the race being called off the first day because we thought we had a good chance to win. This is my fifth victory as a professional, and I'd really like to thank all my team-mates, mechanics and managers for continuing to have confidence in me.’

Second placed Gordon Fraser was gracious in defeat. ‘I think the main thing today was the strong headwind. That makes it very difficult to control. You burn your guys a lot faster in a headwind and, as a result, it's a little more chaotic.’

‘I think my lead-out man, Greg (Henderson) was just missing a bit of power there and we got over-run by Graeme (Brown). It was actually the best thing that could have happened to me in a headwind situation. If it was a tailwind, we might see Graeme up here and not us. I'm a little disappointed with second, but it's not too bad given the quality of the field here. All of the sprinters are world-class, so I can't be too disappointed,’ he said.

Tomorrow’s stage runs from Port Dickson to Shah Alam and, being a flat 96 kilometre run, it is expected to once again favour the sprinters. Moriarty’s goal is to be right in the thick of things with the best gallopers, while McCann and Deignan will be focusing their thoughts and gathering their energies for Saturday’s all important race to the top of the Genting Highlands.

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi stage 7, Pontian – Melaka : 1, Luciana Pagliarini (Lampre) 166.7 miles in 3 hours 49 mins 10 secs; 2, G. Fraser (Health Net Pro); 3, G. Brown (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres); 4, E. Degano (Team Barloworld); 5, M. Gobbi (De Nardi); 6, G. Gasparre (De Nardi); 7, M. Van Haecke (Mr Bookmaker.com/Palmans Collstrop); 8, S. Sama’I (Wismilak) all same time

Hibernian Team Ireland riders: 15, E. Moriarty; 51, P. Deignan; 54, D. McCann; 61, D. Lynch; 100, P. Griffin, at 29 secs; 109, D. O’Loughlin, at 51 secs

Best Aisan rider – stage: 1, Sama’I; 2, H. Maleki (Iran); 3, R. Nor Affendy (Malaysia)

Best team: 1, De Nardi; 2, MrBookmaker.com/ Palmans Collsrop; 3, Health Net Pro, Best Asian team: 1, Iran; 2, Malaysia; 3, Relax Bodysol

General classification: 1, Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) 21 hours 35 mins 48 secs; 2, H. Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) at 36 secs; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 46 secs; 4, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) at 51 secs; 5, N. White (South Africa) at 101 secs; 6, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) at 1 min 17 secs; 7, K. Van De Wouwer (Palmans-Collstrop) at 1 min 20 secs; 8, D. George (South Africa) at 1 min 35 secs; 9, D. Bruylandts (Chocolate Jacques) at 2 min 01 secs; 10, J. Florencio Cabre (Relax Bodysol) at 2 mins 7 secs

Points: 1, Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) 81 points; 2, Perez, 43; 3, G. Vanderaerden (Mr Bookmaker.com/Palmans Colstrop) 35

Mountains: 1, Perez, 31; 2, R. Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 28; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) 20

Teams : 1, Team Barloworld ; 2, Colombia Selle Italia ; 3, Relax Bodysol. Other: 10, Ireland

Best Asian rider: 1, G. Mizbani (Iran), 14 hours 10 mins 3 secs; 2, S. Tonton (Wismilak), at 58 secs; 3, A. Kazemi (Iran), at 2 mins 11 secs Best Asian team: 1, Japan; 2, Iran; 3, China

MORIARTY SPEEDS TO EXCELLENT FIFTH PLACE: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 11) Eugene Moriarty today continued the Hibernian Team Ireland’s run of form and good results in the 2.2 ranked Tour de Langkawi, sprinting home towards the head of the bunch to claim an excellent fifth on the stage. The Kerry rider crossed the line in the same time as the victorious Italian specialist Ivan Quaranta (Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave), with Luciano Pagliarini (Lampre), Ruben Bongiorno (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres) and points leader Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) completing the list of front runners.

Moriarty’s result continues the remarkable showing displayed by the Team Ireland squad since the race started on February sixth. Irish riders have been to the fore on each occasion, with Philip Deignan and David McCann finishing 19th and 22nd on the tough mountain stage to Tanah Rata, then sixth and twelfth respectively on the following day’s race into Raub. Moriarty was tenth on the fourth stage, taking fifth in the bunch sprint behind several breakaway riders. McCann took fourteenth on yesterday’s 18 kilometre time trial in Melaka, moving up to an excellent eleventh overall in the pro-am event. See pictures here..

In addition to Moriarty’s fifth place today, Paul Griffin and McCann crossed the line in 17th and 25th place, ensuring that Ireland finished fourth in the team stage classification and ahead of the pro outfits Lampre, Relax Bodysol, Palmans-Collstrop, Ceramiche Panaria-Margres, Team Barloworld, Chocolade Jacques, Colombia Selle Italia and Health Net Pro. Philip Deignan gained some more publicity for the team with a twelve-kilometre breakaway in the closing stages; the 20 year old went clear with Shinichi Fukushima (Japan) and Alexandre Lavallee (Canada) with 22 kilometres remaining, building up a maximum lead of 18 seconds. The Lampre team went to the front and succeeded in recapturing the trio with ten kilometres to go, but Dignan’s effort showed just what good form the young rider has.

The Hibernian Team Ireland’s performance in the race has earned considerable praise, including a glowing description from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen on yesterday’s TV coverage.

‘Morale is really good on the team’, said manager Frank Campbell. ‘They are clicking really well and getting some good results. Eugene’s fifth place today was really great…we’ll try the same again tomorrow to see if he can finish even further up.’

Today’s 175 kilometre stage took the riders from Muar to Johor Bahru, a flat route which was expected to play into the hands of the sprinters who, thus far, hadn’t had the opportunity to dispute a stage victory amongst themselves. A number of small attacks took place shortly after leaving Muar, with a dangerous group of approximately 18 riders going clear just after twenty kilometres. Pushed along by a strong tailwind – which saw 94 kilometres covered in the first two hours - the breakaways opened up a maximum lead of two and a half minutes.

Behind, a number of teams tried to keep the gap between the bunch and break under control. The Palmans Collstrop squad drove the pace at the front of the chase and started to reduce the lead of those up front. With 60 kilometres left to race this gap was one minute; ten kilometres later, the leading group broke up and left just three riders clear. Alessandro Cortinovis (Lampre), Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres) and Canadian champion Dominique Perras did their utmost to rebuild their lead, opening the gap out to 1 minute and 12 seconds, but the pendulum swung once again and they were reeled in with 145 kilometres remaining.

After a brief split in the peloton, Deignan, Fukushima and Lavallee tore off the front and built a 20 second advantage. Several riders took up the chase behind, dragging the bunch along in their wake, and eventually succeed in dragging back Deignan and his two companions with ten kilometres left. From there to the line it was all about jockeying for the best possible position; Griffin and McCann did what they could to set Moriarty up for the final burst and his excellent fifth place.

‘The plan was for David to lead me to the one kilometre to go banner, and then Paul would take me the rest of the way’, said Moriarty afterwards. ‘Things got a little mixed up with all the switching and moving in the bunch and Paul ended up in front. He went through a little gap which suddenly closed, meaning that I lost his wheel; I’ll take some chances but there really wasn’t anywhere for me to go.’

‘I did what I could to work my way up again into a decent position. I was a bit far back but when the sprint started I found myself passing guys in the run up to the line. I was in the 54 x 11 gear, with a bit of a headwind but was still accelerating. I think if the line was a bit further I could have got past one or two more.’

‘The sprint two days ago and today have both done a lot for my confidence. I know I am as fast as a lot of the sprinters here, so hopefully over the next few days I will have a chance to go for it again. If all goes well I really think I can do something. The team were superb and did what they could to help me out today; with the switching in the bunch it didn’t work out perfectly but that’s the way it goes. Hopefully it (the leadout) will work out well next time.’

Philip Deignan had, according to manager Frank Campbell, been due to take things easy on the flatter stages but tore off the front with 22 kilometres to go. ‘I was just moving up the bunch but found myself on Fuckushima’s wheel when he attacked. I went with it and three of us got away. I felt pretty good out there; we stayed clear for a while but the bunch eventually brought us back. It was good to give it a go, though’.

The bunch finish meant that there was no change in the overall classification. Colombia Selle Italia rider Marlon Perez preserves his 32 second advantage over Hector Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol), with his own team-mate Freddy Gonzalez a further ten seconds back. McCann is eleventh, two minutes and four seconds down, while Deignan is one minute and twelve seconds further back in twentieth place.

The Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi continues tomorrow with another flat stage. The riders race along the coast from Pontion back to Melaka, a 166.7 kilometre trip which should once again favour the race’s sprinters and, by that definition, Moriarty.

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi stage six, Muar – Johor Bahru: 1, Ivan Quaranta, 175.2 kilometres in 3 hours 39 mins 20 secs; 2, L. Pagliarini (Lampre); 3, R. Bongiorno (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres); 4, G. Fraser (Health Net Pro); 5, E. Moriarty (Hibernian Team Ireland); 6, E. Degano (Team Barloworld); 7, E. Grigoli (De Nardi); 8, W. Setyobudi (Wismilak) all same time. Other Irish: 17, P. Griffin; 25, D. McCann; 52, D. Lynch; 55, P. Deignan; 72, D. O’Loughlin, all same time

Team stage classification: 1, De Nardi, 10 hours 58 mins; 2, Iran; 3, Wismilak; 4, Hibernian Team Ireland; 5, Lampre. Aisan team stage: 1, Iran; 2, Wismilak; 3, Malaysia

General classification: 1, Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) 17 hours 46 mins 38 secs; 2, H. Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) at 32 secs; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 42 secs; 4, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) at 47 secs; 5, N. White (South Africa) at 57 secs; 6, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) at 1 min 13 secs; 7, K. Van De Wouwer (Palmans-Collstrop) at 1 min 16 secs; 8, D. George (South Africa) at 1 min 31 secs; 9, D. Bruylandts (Chocolate Jacques) at 1 min 57 secs; 10, J. Florencio Cabre (Relax Bodysol) at 2 mins 3 secs

Irish: 11, McCann, at 2 mins 4 secs; 20, Deignan, at 3 mins 16 secs; 64, Griffin, at 16 mins 47 secs; 67, O’Loughlin, at 17 mins 21 secs; 84, Lynch, at 22 mins 47 secs; 103, Moriarty, at 29 mins 9 secs

Points: 1, Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) 57 points; 2, Perez, 36; 3, Guerra Garcia, 31

Mountains: 1, Perez, 31; 2, R. Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 28; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) 20

Teams : 1, Team Barloworld ; 2, Colombia Selle Italia ; 3, Relax Bodysol, Other: 10, Ireland

Aisan rider: 1, G. Mizbani (Iran), 14 hours 10 mins 3 secs; 2, S. Tonton (Wismilak), at 58 secs; 3, A. Kazemi (Iran), at 2 mins 11 secs, Aisan team: 1, Japan; 2, Iran; 3, China

McCANN MOVES UP AFTER FINE TT RESULT: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 10) While he didn’t achieve his ambitious goal of a top five placing on the stage, Hibernian Team Ireland rider David McCann rode strongly on today’s fifth leg of the Tour de Langkawi, a 18 kilometre time trial in Melaka. The Hibernian Team Ireland rider finished a fine 11th on the flat, wind buffeted test, recording a time 57.36 seconds behind that of the stage winner Eric Wohlberg of Canada. McCann’s performance moves him up from 13th to 11th in the overall standings, leaving him one second outside a place in the top ten and 2 minutes and 4 seconds behind the new overall leader Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia).

Ireland’s other protected rider Philip Deignan lost time on today’s stage, finishing 52nd in the test and slipping from 12th to 20th in the general classification. He covered the course in 23 minutes 49.13 seconds, 2 minutes 10.39 seconds off the time of Wohlberg. The 20 year old is now 3 minutes and 16 seconds off yellow, although he will look to improve his overall position on Saturday’s tough climb up the Genting Highlands.

‘David did a very good ride today’, said team manager Frank Campbell afterwards. ‘He had set his sights a bit higher but that was still a good result. He has moved up in the overall classification and we will see if we can get him into the top ten over the next few days. Philip slipped back a bit today but he finds it tough to get the big gears going and that’s what was needed today. The climb is where he will make up time, I expect that he will be going well there.’

David O’Loughin rode well on the stage, placing 27th. Denis Lynch, Eugene Moriarty and Paul Griffin were 36th, 48th and 88th respectively and, like O’Loughlin, are likely to go on the attack over the next couple of days.

‘The plan from now is for David and Philip to sit tight and wait until Genting Highlands’, said Campbell. ‘I’m hoping they will ride well there. In the meantime, the other lads will do some racing….yesterday we rode very hard early on but nothing was getting away. It was pretty frustrating.’

The big news of today’s stage was the change in yellow jersey, with race leader Freddy Gonzalez’s tunic passing onto the shoulders of his team-mate Marlon Perez. Perez had taken yellow on stage two but lost it 24 hours later when he crashed out on the rain-washed descent into Raub. Today, though, the Brazilian was on a mission, the climber losing out to specialist Wohlberg by just over 13 seconds in his march into yellow. John Lieswyn (Health Net Pro), Hector Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) and Perez’s team-mate Russell Van Hout completed the top five.

The result leaves Perez 32 seconds clear of Guerra Garcia and a further ten ahead of Gonzalez, who must now look to the Genting Highlands if he is to wrest the jersey back once more. Team Barloworld’s Ryan Cox is also a danger, although he didn’t perform as expected today, finishing back in 17th place and so losing time.

‘I felt very good today’, said Perez afterwards. ‘My manager gave me a lot of confidence before the stage. It is the second time trial of the year for me, and the second time I’ve finished in this position.’

Responding a question about Colombian cyclists not traditionally being good time-trialists, the Selle Italia rider said the presumption is a bit misleading. ‘Two years ago Santiago Botero became world time trial champion so that shows it is possible. I’ve been pan-American time trial champion and like the discipline.’

‘This race is good preparation for the Giro, I hope to do well in that race as it is one of my goals for the season.’

Perez was also asked if he had recovered from his crash. ‘I’m still a bit sore after the fall, but luckily it was not too serious. I feel that I am getting better each day and I am looking forward to the rest of the race.’

Stage winner Eric Wohlberg was delighted with his win. ‘It’s great to get this. Coming into it this morning I didn’t put too much expectation on myself, I just went out there and went as hard as I could. It was difficult on the way out as there was a cross- and headwind, but I just went as fast as I could into it. I was suffering on the way back but managed to hold on.’

‘To tell you the truth, I wasn’t that surprised by the performance of Marlon….he is a good rider and is going very well.’

Colombia Selle Italia manager Gianni Savio welcomed the result. ‘Yesterday I said that I wanted Marlon to get the jersey as I knew he’d be stronger (than Freddy Gonzalez) in the time trial. His ride means it stays in the team. I think he has a good chance to win the Tour de Langkawi, but the important thing is that the riders perform well together. I’ve got to use a bit of psychology on the two lads to make sure things work out – it’s natural that they both want to win but the danger is that if they don’t ride to a common purpose then someone else could sneak in to win.’

Savio said that Gonzalez would probably be more suited to the Genting Highlands. ‘Genting is a very good climb for him. He can do a very good stage there. Our tactics will depend on how things are, where the other riders are in the general classification. If we have the yellow jersey at the start of that stage then we will race one way, but if we are chasing someone else then we will use the two riders to apply pressure. It all depends on what happens between now and then.’

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi, stage 5 individual time trial (Melaka – Melaka): 1, Eric Wohlberg (Canada) 18 kilometres in 21 minutes 38.74 seconds; 2, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 13.17 secs; 3, J. Lieswyn (Health Net Pro) at 21.11 secs; 4, H. Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) at 21.85 secs; 5, R. Van Hout (Colombia Selle Italia) at 35.17 secs; 6, D. George (Team Barloworld) at 47.05 secs; 7, G. Henderson (Health Net Pro) at 47.56 secs; 8, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) at 52.98 secs

Hibernian Team Ireland riders: 14, D. McCann, at 57.36 secs; 27, D. O’Loughlin, at 1 min 20.19 secs; 36, D. Lynch, at 1 min 43.79; 48, E. Moriarty, at 2 mins 3.74 secs; 52, P. Deignan, at 2 mins 10.39 secs; 88, P. Griffin at 3 mins 1.78 secs

Aisan rider: 1, M. Iijima (Japan) 22 mins 56.84 secs; 2, G. Mizbani (Iran) at 14.12 secs; 3, T. Kano (Japan) at 20.91 secs

Team stage: 1, Canada; 2, Colombia Selle-Italia; 3, Health Net Pro; Other: 7, Ireland

Aisan team: 1, Japan; 2, Pagcor-Casino Filipino; 3, Iran

General classification: 1, Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) 14 hours 7 mins 18 secs; 2, Guerra Garcia, at 32 secs; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) at 42 secs; 4, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) at 47 secs; 5, N. White (South Africa) at 57 secs; 6, Kannemeyer, at 1 min 13 secs; 7, K. Van De Wouwer (Palmans-Collstrop) at 1 min 16 secs; 8, George, at 1 min 31 secs; 9, D. Bruylandts (Chocolate Jacques) at 1 min 57 secs; 10, J. Florencio Cabre (Relax Bodysol) at 2 mins 3 secs

Points: 1, Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) 45 points; 2, Perez, 36; 3, Guerra Garcia, 31

Mountains: 1, Perez, 31; 2, R. Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 28; 3, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia) 20

Teams : 1, Team Barloworld ; 2, Colombia Selle Italia ; 3, Relax Bodysol, Other: 10, Ireland

Aisan rider: 1, Mizbani, 14 hours 10 mins 3 secs; 2, Tonton, at 58 secs; 3, A. Kazemi, at 2 mins 11 secs, Aisan team: 1, Japan; 2, Iran; 3, China

MORIARTY TENTH ON STAGE FOUR: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 9) Eugene Moriarty continued the excellent Hibernian Team Ireland display in the Tour de Langkawi today when he took tenth on the stage to Tampin. Moriarty finished fifth in the bunch gallop, outsprinting Italian specialist Ivan Quaranta (Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave) to push into the top ten. All of the other Irish riders in the race finished in the same time, with Philip Deignan 21st across the line and Paul Griffin 30th. Deignan and David McCann retain their 12th and 13th places overall in advance of tomorrow’s crucial 18 kilometre time trial in Melaka. See pictures here..

Today’s sweltering stage was the second in a row to go to an Australian, with Team Barloworld rider Sean Sullivan taking the honours ahead of De Nardi’s Devis Miorin. The two had been clear for most of the 148 kilometre stage and reached the line over one minute clear of three chasers, with the peloton 1 minute and 29 seconds down. Moriarty was helped by McCann in the final run-in to the line, the Kerry rider then going on to take what is arguably the best result of his career.

‘It was pretty hairy there in the run-in to the line’, he said after the race. ‘There was a lot of pushing and shoving going on but I don’t really mind it that much as these guys are pros and know what they can get away with without causing a crash. I got a good wheel and just went for it, coming across the line fifth in the group.’

The stage began in a particularly active manner with a succession of attacks commencing shortly after the start in Hulu Kelang. Moriarty was one of the first to race clear but was dragged back; others tried but they too suffered the same fate. The Hibernian Team Ireland riders were active in most of the moves but once any group went clear, the peloton upped the pace and hauled them right back.

Following an unsuccessful 40 rider attack – which included both the yellow jersey and the King of the Mountains jerseys – three riders went clear of the peloton, which finally sat back and let the gap grow. Present in the move was Miorin, Alessandro Cortinovis (Lampre) and Team Barloworld’s Ryan Cox. The trio built an advantage of 38 seconds but with Cox second overall in the general classification, just 27 seconds behind yellow jersey Freddy Gonzalez, he was going to be given no leeway. Gonzalez’s Colombia Selle Italia team ramped up the speed and reduced the lead by half in the space of two kilometres; an unselfish Cox then sat up, his surrender increasing the prospects of the other two riders being able to stay away. His team-mate Sullivan attacked the peloton almost immediately in order to preserve the Team Barloworld presence up front.

Cox’s capitulation had the desired effect as the gap started extending out once more. By the category 4 climb of Mantin – which was won by Cortinovis ahead of Miorin and Sullivan – the lead was 1 minute and 22 seconds. It continued to hover around the minute mark, although a spate of attacks triggered by Canada’s Roland Green on the second category climb at Bukit Putus halved this advantage and looked to spell the end of the move. However after the descent the gap opened out once again as the bunch eased off.

Mantin dropped back to the bunch before the second category climb, leaving just O’Sullivan and Miorin up front. By the 105 kilometre mark the duo’s lead was up to 4 minutes and 4 seconds from three chasers, namely Brice Jones and Micheal Sayers of the Health Net Pro team and Pagcor Casino Filipino’s Albert Primero.

Miorin, Sullivan, Sayers and Jones went over the final cat 3 climb at Senaling in that order, although the gap between the groups was still over three minutes. With 20 kilometres remaining O’Sullivan and Miorin had maintained that three minutes over the chasers and had five minutes in hand over the peloton, which clearly now was not going to get back on terms. Indeed the leaders’ advantage was enough for the two riders to adopt track tactics and slow dramatically inside the final kilometre, neither one wishing to lead out the sprint.

Inside the final 300 metres, Sullivan and Miorin jumped for the line, the former proving to be clearly stronger in his burst of power and taking a fine win. Miorin was followed home by Sayers, Jones and Primero in that order, while Gordon Fraser (Health Net Pro) cemented his hold on the sprints jersey when he pipped Enrico Degano (Team Barloworld), Graeme Brown (Ceramiche Panaria Margres), Rubens Bongiorno (Ceramiche Panaria Margres) and Ireland’s Eugene Moriarty to the line.

Next up is tomorrow’s flat 18 kilometre time trial which starts and finishes in Melaka. McCann is particularly psyched to aim for a good ride, while Deignan’s excellent 12th place overall should also lead to a good result. O’Loughlin’s confidence seems low following his loss of time two days ago but should he ride to his ability, he could give himself a big morale boost. Here’s hoping.

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi stage 4, Hulu Kelang – Tampin: 1, Sean Sullivan (Team Barloworld) 147.8 kilometres in 3 hours 20 mins 17 secs; 2, D. Miorin (De Nardi) same time; 3, M. Sayers (Health Net Pro) at 1 min 3 secs; 4, B. Jones (Health Net Pro) at 1 min 5 secs; 5, A. Primero (Pagcor-Casino Filipino) at 1 min 10 secs; 6, G. Fraser (Health Net Pro) at 1 min 29 secs; 7, E. Degano (Team Barloworld); 8, G. Brown (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres); 9, R. Bongiorno (Ceramich Panaria-Margres); 10, E. Moriarty (Hibernian Team Ireland) all same time. Other Hibernian Team Ireland: 21, P. Deignan; 29, P. Griffin; 55, D. McCann; 88, D. O’Loughlin; 124, D. Lynch, all same time

Team stage classification: 1, Team Barloworld, 10 hours 3 ins 49 secs; 2, De Nardi, same time; 3, Health Net Pro, at 39 secs, Other: 5, Hibernian Team Ireland, at 1 min 29 secs

General classification after stage 4: 1, Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia Selle-Italia) 13 hours 45 mins; 2, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) at 27 secs; 3, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) same time; 4, K. Van De Wouwer (Mr Bookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop) at 41 secs; 5, N. White (South Africa) at 46 secs; 6, H. Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) at 50 secs; 7, W. Belli (Lampre) at 1 min; 8, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) same time. Irish: 12, Deignan, at 1 min 45 secs; 13, McCann, at 1 min 46 secs; 64, Griffin, at 14 mins 25 secs; 70, O’Loughlin, at 16 mins 41 secs; 92, Lynch, at 21 mins 43 secs; 112, E. Moriarty, at 27 mins 45 secs

Points classification: 1, Fraser, 45; 2, Gonzalez, 26; 3, D. Miorin (De Nardi) 24

Mountains classification : 1, Perez, 31; 2, R. Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 28 ; 3, Gonzalez, 20

Teams classification: 1, Team Barloworld 41 hours 15 mins 33 secs; 2, Colombia Selle Italia, at 2 mins 7 secs; 3, Relax Bodysol, at 2 mins 55 secs. Other: 11, Ireland, at 17 mins 23 secs

DEIGNAN SIXTH, McCANN TWELFTH ON DAY THREE: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 8) Hibernian Team Ireland riders Philip Deignan and David McCann had another excellent showing today in the Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi, riding strongly on the 171 kilometre stage from Tapah to Raub to move inside the top fifteen in the general classification. The duo climbed well on the first category ascent of Gap, then started their charge on the slippery descent to the finish. Working their way past numerous fallers, including the race leader Marlon Perez, Deignan and McCann skilfully made their way down what the latter later described as a ‘seriously sketchy descent’, closing in the whole time on lone leader Brett Lancaster.

The Ceramiche-Panaria Margres rider managed to hold on to 33 seconds of a fast-dwindling lead, taking the stage, while Deignan and McCann came in as part of the small chasing group.

Racing for second place, Deignan was in the perfect position coming into the final bend but lost a little ground when the rider in front of him crashed. The talented 20 year old sprinted home an excellent sixth, 35 seconds behind the winner, with McCann twelfth in the same time. The strong display means that they move further up the general classification; twenty year old Deignan is now twelfth, 1 minute and 45 seconds behind the new yellow jersey Freddy Gonzalez, a strong climber who in the past has been King of the Mountains in the Tour of Italy. McCann is both one second and one place further back.

Today’s longest stage of the race was defined by a massive breakaway by Australian Brett Lancaster and New Zealander Scott Guyton (Wismilak). Later explaining to the press that he had suggested their audacious break to Guyton as a half-joke, the two surged clear of the main field at the 36 kilometre point and set about building a plus-ten minute lead. Guyton took the bonus sprints at 45 and 73 kilometres, but started to falter on the winding, rain-lashed ascent of Gap.

‘We had a chat and decided to attack together early on’, reported Lancaster at the stage end. ‘Scott rode very well, did strong turns on the front and took two of the Petronas sprints en route but when he started to weaken on the climb and I heard our lead was being eaten away, I told him “I’m gonna have to go, mate” and ploughed on ahead.’

‘Some days I climb well and sometimes I don’t. This time I was right on song and when I heard that I still had lead of 3 minutes and 15 seconds at the top of the mountain I knew that if I really went for it on the descent I might just be able to hold on.’

Lancaster rode flat out down the treacherous, twisting road, losing time all the way to the finish but managed to hold on for the win. Meanwhile back in the bunch the testing descent was catching out a lot of riders; crashes were occurring time and time again, with race leader Marlon Perez coming a cropper on a metal-surfaced bridge shortly after the top of the climb.

Deignan and McCann had been warned beforehand about the technical descent and knew what to expect, descending more skilfully than many of the pros and going clear from the main contenders. Combining with Health Net Pro rider Gordon Fraser, they raced at full throttle to the finish in order to open up the greatest possible amount of time. The net result was that Deignan took sixth while McCann was twelfth on the stage. They will now start tomorrow’s 148 kilometre leg from Hulu Kelang to Tampin in twelfth and thirteenth place overall. Of course, this makes them the designated leaders of the team.

‘We decided today that the rest of the team would definitely have to ride for Philip and Dave’, said Hibernian Team Ireland manager Frank Campbell. ‘So the rest of the boys carried bottles all day and they never let them come off the front of the group. We knew the field was going to break up. We were hoping to get someone in the first move but there was so much racing, so much tactical racing that there was no point in killing ourselves for that. We have next week to cope with.’

‘Genting Highlands is going to be the big decider now, of course. We have got two guys who proved they can be up there in the first twenty…. and I think that if we come out of this race with more than we have got (so far) we will have to be very, very happy.’

* The Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi continues tomorrow with a 147.8 kilometre race from Hulu Kelang to Tampin. The hills at Mantin (fourth category), Bukit Putus (second category) and Senaling (third cat) will favour the opportunist rather than the dedicated climber, while three hot spots sprints will also add some oomph to what should be a fast, aggressive stage. See pictures here..

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi (2.2), stage 3 Tapah – Raub: 1, Brett Lancaster (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres) 171.2 kilometres in 4 hours 3 mins 59 secs ; 2, G. Fraser (Health Net presented by Maxxis) at 33 secs; 3, G. Vanderaerden (Mr Bookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop); 4, F. Gonzalez (Colombia Selle-Italia) at 35 secs; 5, M. Van Haecke (Mr Bookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop); 6, P. Deignan (Hibernian Team Ireland); 7, J. Florencio Cabre (Relax Bodysol); 8, K. Van De Wouwer (Mr Bookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop) all same time

Other Hibernian Team Ireland riders: 12, D. McCann, same time; 94, D. Lynch, at 8 mins 27 secs; 96, D. O’Loughlin; 99, P. Griffin; 105, E. Moriarty, all same time

Points : 1, Lancaster, 15 ; 2, Fraser, 14 ; 3, Vanderaerden, 13. Irish: 6, Deignan, 10; 12, McCann, 4

General classification after stage 3: 1, Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia Selle-Italia) 10 hours 23 mins 14 secs; 2, R. Cox (Team Barloworld) at 27 secs; 3, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) same time; 4, K. Van De Wouwer (Mr Bookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop) at 41 secs; 5, N. White (South Africa) at 46 secs; 6, H. Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol) at 50 secs; 7, T. Kannemeyer (Team Barloworld) at 1 minute; 8, W. Belli (Lampre) at 1 min 5 secs

Irish: 12, Deignan, at 1 min 45 secs; 13, McCann, at 1 min 46 secs; 65, Griffin, at 14 mins 25 secs; 70, O’Loughlin, at 16 mins 41 secs; 88, Lynch, at 21 mins 43 secs; 115, E. Moriarty, at 27 mins 45 secs

Points classification: 1, Fraser, 28; 2, Gonzalez, 26; 3, M. Perez (Colombia Selle Italia) 22

Mountains classification : 1, Perez, 27 ; 2, R. Marin (Colombia Selle Italia) 26 ; 3, Gonzalez, 20

Teams classification: 1, Team Barloworld 31 hours 11 mins 58 secs; 2, Colombia Selle Italia, at 24 secs; 3, Relax Bodysol, at 1 min 12 secs, Other: 11, Ireland, at 15 mins 40 secs

CAR FLIPS IN TOUR DE LANGKAWI: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 8) There was a scare for the riders in the Tour de Langkawi after the driver of the Relax Bodysol car crashed and turned over the vehicle inside the final ten kilometres of the second stage. The dramatic accident happened as the driver was leaning out the window to talk to his rider, losing control and hitting a wall before flipping the car.

The driver emerged shaken but not badly injured, his pride and reputation the biggest casualties. The accident though was of concern to those racing up the final first category climb to Tanah Rata, as several of them thought that a rider had been involved. ‘We were riding past it and could see a crushed bike beneath the roof’, said Ireland’s Eugene Moriarty after the stage. ‘It looked really bad’. Fortunately the mangled machine had been one on the roof of the car, rather than in the race at the time, and no rider had been hurt.

The rumour that the driver has been issued with a golf cart for the remainder of the race is, sadly, untrue.

DEIGNAN 19TH, MCCANN 22ND ON STAGE TWO: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 7) Irish riders Philip Deignan and David McCann had an excellent showing on day two of the Tour de Langkawi, finishing 19th and 22nd respectively at the summit finish of Tanah Rata. Deignan, who is just 20 years of age, showed his considerable potential by finishing just 2 minutes and 26 seconds behind stage winner Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia), with McCann just one second further back.

Paul Griffin had been with the two other Irish riders inside the final ten kilometres but was forced to stop with mechanical problems, eventually finishing 7 minutes and 14 seconds down in 55th place. David O’Loughlin was involved in an earlier crash and while he was able to rejoin the bunch, the energy lost contributed in part to his slipping back when the pressure was applied on the climb. The Mayo rider finished 62nd on the stage, 9 minutes and 30 seconds back, while Denis Lynch was 14 minutes 32 seconds down in 78th.

Eugene Moriarty was next home, crossing the line 101st, while Tim Barry crashed heavily earlier in the stage and finished outside the time limit. It was uncertain at the time of writing whether the Irish team’s appeal against that ruling would be successful. ‘Tim really wants to be there tomorrow’, said manager Frank Campbell. ‘We’ll just have to wait and see what the decision will be.’

Campbell was, as expected, delighted with the showing by Deignan and McCann. ‘The boys did very, very well today…it was a great performance. The race totally blew apart on the last climb but they were still up there, riding well against the pros. Hopefully we can build on this during the remainder of the race.’

The action began with a succession of breakaways, short-lived affairs which prompted big bursts of speed within a peloton determined to let nothing go clear. Shortly after the 35 kilometre mark a group did succeed in opening a significant advantage, with eight riders joining forces to establish a five minutes-plus lead. The group comprised Marlon Perez (Colombia Selle Italia), Jurgen Van De Walle (Chocolade Jacques), Devis Miorin (De Nardi), Hector Guerra Garcia (Relax Bodysol), Sean Sullivan (Team Barloworld), Gordon Frazer (Health Net Pro), Matnur Matnur (Wismilak) and Jeremy Maartens (South Africa). Xiaohai Zheng of China set off in pursuit of the octet but was unable to make inroads into their advantage, slipping back to the bunch.

Fraser won the first Petronas sprint at kilometre 54, then took the second of the day at kilometre 89. Five kilometres later the group hit the start of the climbs with a gap of 4 minutes and 17 seconds, and while this dropped shortly afterwards to under 3 minutes, good riding by the leaders opened the advantage out slightly again. Guerra Garcia then jumped clear, quickly opening up a gap of 1 minute and ten seconds, but those behind were able to dig in and reduce their deficit slightly. As the gap dropped under 40 seconds, Perez shot clear of the chasers and bridged across before pressing ahead alone.

Driven by Lampre, the field behind was steadily reducing in size as riders were jettisoned off the back. Perez took the king of the mountains points ahead of Guerra Garcia, with Van De Walle and Sullivan crossing just ahead of a fast-closing (and considerably reduced) main field. The three Irish riders remaining in this group were looking comfortable on the short plateau after the KOM, with McCann close to the front and Deignan and Griffin slightly further back. As the group hit the base of the final climb Lampre’s tipped contender Wladimir Belli shot clear; Deignan was clearly psyched, taking his wheel and riding clear with the Italian. ‘I saw him go and just went for it’, he said afterwards. ‘I blew a bit after that and it took me a while to recover, but got into a good group with David, Paul and Charlie Wegelius (Di Nardi).

‘Philip was really going well’, said McCann at the finish. ‘The Lampre rider (Belli) attacked and he went with him for a while. I held back a bit and just settled into a rhythm. Philip came back to us and together with Charly Wegelius, we rode hard to the top.’

Griffin was set to stay with his two team-mates for a while at least, but when his chain went into his spokes he was forced to dismount and so lost his chances. ‘I got going again as quick as I could but they were gone. I rode flat out for a few kilometres but then eased back a bit when I knew I wasn’t going to get back up.’

Up front, Perez was riding a stormer of a race to hold off the chase of team-mate Freddy Gonzalez and Chocolade Jacques’ Dave Bruylandts. He eventually reached the finish 47 seconds clear of Gonzalez, with Team Barloworld’s Ryan Cox, Colombia Selle Italia’s Ruber Marin and Cox’s team-mate David George next home.. Deignan jumped clear of his four-man chase group to take an excellent 19th, with Susanto Tonton (Wismilak), Wegelius and McCann next home.

The two riders were clearly pleased with their fine ride, and looking forward to the rest of the race. McCann is banking on doing a strong performance in Tuesday’s 18 kilometre time trial in Melaka. Deignan, too, is hoping to ride well there. Before then, they’ll face more uphill slopes on tomorrow’s 171.2 kilometre stage to Raub. The first category, 881 metre climb of Gap comes 35 kilometres from the finish, with a fast, tricky descent and a small flat section before the line. Saturday’s Genting Highlands stage will be the most important, though, with a good performance on this torturous road foremost on their minds. See Pictures

Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi, stage 2 (Ipoh – Tanah Rata): 1. Marlon Perez (Colombia) Colombia-Selle Italia, 151.6 km/94.27 m in 4 hr 42 min 50 sec (average speed 40.82 kph/25.38 mph); 2, Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia) Colombia-Selle Italia, at 47 sec; 3, Ryan Cox (South Africa) Team Barloworld, at 1 min 12 sec; 4, Ruber Marin (Colombia) Colombia-Selle Italia; 5, David George (South Africa) Team Barloworld, both same time; 6, Luis F Laverde Jimenez (Colombia) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave, at 1 min 20 sec.

Hibernian Team Ireland riders: 19, Philip Deignan, at 2 mins 26 secs; 22, David McCann, at 2 mins 27 secs; 55, Paul Griffin, at 7 mins 14 secs; 62, David O’Loughlin, at 9 mins 30 secs; 78, Denis Lynch, at 14 mins 32 secs; 101, Eugene Moriarty, at 20 mins 34 secs; 197, Tim Barry, at 35 mins 20 secs (outside time limit)

Stage team: Colombia-Selle Italia, 11 hr 10 min 29 sec; 2, Team Barloworld, at 2 min 6 sec; 3, Relax-Bodysol, at 3 min 32 sec. Other: 9, Hibernian Team Ireland

Stage points: Perez, 10 pts; 2, Gonzalez, 6 pts; 3, Cox, 4 pts.

Stage mountains competition: Perez, 27 pts; 2, Hector Guerra Garcia (Spain) Relax-Bodysol, 15 pts; 3, Marin, 14 pts.

Overall classification: Marlon Perez (Colombia) Colombia-Selle Italia, 263.70 km/163.98m in 6 hr 17 min 45 sec (average speed 41.86 kph/26.03mph); 2, Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia) Colombia-Selle Italia, at 55 sec; 3, Ryan Cox (South Africa) Team Barloworld, at 1 min 22 sec; 4, Ruber Marin (Colombia) Colombia-Selle Italia, at 1 min 26 sec; 5, David George (South Africa) Team Barloworld, same time; 6, Luis F Laverde Jimenez (Colombia) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave, at 1 min 34 sec.

Hibernian Team Ireland riders: 19, Philip Deignan, at 2 mins 26 secs; 22, David McCann, at 2 mins 27 secs; 55, Paul Griffin, at 7 mins 14 secs; 62, David O’Loughlin, at 9 mins 30 secs; 78, Denis Lynch, at 14 mins 32 secs; 101, Eugene Moriarty, at 20 mins 34 secs

Overall team: Colombia-Selle Italia, 11 hr 10 min 29 sec; 2, Team Barloworld, at 2 min 6 sec; 3, Relax-Bodysol, at 3 min 32 sec. Other: 9, Hibernian Team Ireland

PROBLEMS MAR STAGE ONE OF TOUR DE LANGKAWI: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 6) Towards the end of today’s opening stage of the Tour of Langkawi it was looking pretty feasible that one or more of the Hibernian Team Ireland riders could land a good placing. Eugene Moriarty and David McCann were sitting comfortably towards the front of the bunch as the field raced onto the finishing circuit, with Moriarty sitting in fourth place directly behind the train of the Ceramiche Panaria riders as they took the bell with one lap to go.

In the space of another two kilometres all that had changed. The local police opened the road blocks a lap too soon, believing that the riders had finished, with the net effect that a flood of cars, trucks and motorcycles drove onto the circuit and caused absolute pandemonium.

In the chaos, riders were blocked by traffic and others took a wrong turning at one of the circuit junctions, causing all momentum to go out of the race. Fearing serious injury, the peloton rode slowly to the finish, rolling across the line in protest at what had happened. Some shouted that the bunch would continue on and complete another lap in order to settle the stage honours, but with the cars still blocking the circuit, race controller Alan Rushdon was forced to call a halt to stage one.

The riders were undoubtedly disappointed, but so too a confused public who had turned out to watch a high speed gallop but instead saw the field cross the line, en masse, at far less than racing pace.

The day had been characterised by a long breakaway ride by two Aisan riders, Zhu Yongbiao (China) and Merculio Ramos of the Pagcor-Casino Filipino team. They went clear shortly after the race left Penang, riding well together to fend off a three-man chase by Hamad Mohd Mahazir and Musa Musairi (both Malaysia) and Ramos’ team-mate Lloyd Lucien Reynante, and also to open up a five minute lead over the main field.

The move carried them through three hotspot bonus sprints at Simpang Ampat, Bagan Serai and Kamunting and on towards the finish in Taiping, but a furious chase by the Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave and Lampre teams meant that their lead dwindled steadily as the finish drew near. Seeking to set up their sprinters Ivan Quaranta and Luciano Pagliarini, the two squads forced the pace and eventually reeled in the unlucky leaders with about ten kilometres remaining.

With just one lap of the eight kilometre finishing loop to complete, the scene was set for a furious bunch sprint. The teammates of the specialist sprinters were at the helm, providing a perfect buildup, and everything seemed under control. Everything, it transpired, except for the traffic and the problems which would ruin the opening stage of this otherwise impeccably-run event.

Irish riders Eugene Moriarty and David McCann were disappointed at the outcome, as both had felt good and been close to the front in the closing stages. As the riders crossed the start finish line at the beginning of the final lap, Moriarty was sitting fourth in line behind three Ceramiche Panaria riders and fancied his chances of getting a high placing.

‘Myself and David were up the front, we would have been up there somewhere in the results. It was fast towards the end, all the sprinters were there and mad for it. I felt pretty good and thought I’d get some sort of a result, which would have been great as it would have taken the pressure off for the rest of the week. But suddenly there were a whole load of cars on the circuit….it was very dangerous.’

‘It wasn’t a sudden decision not to race to the line’, said McCann, ‘but rather one which was forced by the circumstances. We were racing flat out but then there was suddenly a whole load of cars in the way. Some guys overshot a corner, heading off briefly in the wrong direction…basically, it was crazy out there.’

With all the riders finishing at neutralised pace and classified in the same time, there was no stage winner to head to the podium. For Yongbiao and Ramos, however, there was an unexpected reward. They had gone clear inside the first few kilometres, fended off a chase from three others, and picked up bonus sprints at three points along the way. Although they were caught before the line, their efforts were rewarded with the yellow jersey of race leadership (Ramos) and the points jersey (Yonbiao). The blue and red jersey for best Aisan got passed down to Ramos’ team-mate Lloyd Lucien Reynante, making it a good day in the saddle for the trio.

As expected, a beaming Ramos expressed his delight after the stage but played down talk of defending the jersey. ‘I came here looked to do well in the best Aisan competition’, he said, simply. And while he doesn’t expect to retain yellow after tomorrow’s tough stage to Tanah Rata, today’s peculiar result has done him and Aisan cycling a lot of good.

Tbe Irish team also got a boost, with Moriarty and McCann showing they are in good shape and willing and able to mix it when the speed is on. Tomorrow’ s terrain is radically different but a good performance by one or more of the team would go a long way towards a solid final overall placing. See Pictures

Tour of Langkawi stage one, Penang – Taiping (112 kilometres): no stage result/no overall result given

Yellow jersey presented to Merculio Ramos (Pagcor-Casino Filipino); blue points jersey to Yongbiao Zhu (China); red and blue jersey of best Aisan to Lloyd Lucien Reynante (Pagcor-Casino Filipino)

Primes: Hotspot sprint with bonuses at Simpang Ampat: 1, Zhu; 2, Ramos; Reynante, At Bagan Serai: 1, Ramos; 2, Zhu; 3, Reynante, At Kamunting : 1, Ramos ; 2, Zhu ; 3, Pinotti (Lampre)

IRISH AIMING FOR GOOD SHOWING AGAINST PROS IN MALAYSIA: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 4) The seven man Irish team at the Tour of Langkawi may be lining out tomorrow (Friday) against riders from thirteen trade teams, amongst them established big hitters such as Freddy Gonzalez (Colombia Selle Italia), Roland Green (Canada) and Lampre’s Wladimir Belli, but team manager Frank Campbell is nevertheless optimistic about the team’s chances in the race.

‘It is hard to judge which of the guys is in the best form as they have not raced for a few months’, he said, ‘but we are going into the race with an optimistic outlook. We are hoping that the climbers like David O’Loughlin and Philip Deignan can do well on the summit finish on the second day, staying in the shake-up until the end. Then we will look at how things have settled out. In addition, David McCann is hoping to do a decent ride in the time trial on stage 5’.

‘There will be a lot of big teams here who are going to be chasing stage placings but hopefully we may be able to live off the back of those.’

The seven Irish riders did a final two hour training spin in the hills around Penang, loosening up their limbs for tomorrow and also easing out the final symptoms of jet lag. Morale is good within the team, each of the riders looking in good condition and eager to get their season underway.

Tomorrow’s first stage takes the 140 rider field from the land-linked island of Penang to Taiping, Perak’s foremost historic town. Sprinters such as Ivan Quaranta (Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave), Graeme Brown (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres), Jeremy Hunt (Palmans-Collsrop) and Lampre’s Luciano Pagliarini - who took three consecutive stage wins here last year – are likely to go head to head at the end of the flat 112 kilometre stage.

It is Saturday’s second stage, however, which will give the first real clues as to the likely winners of the race. The final sixty kilometre ascent to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands will shakeup the general classification; for the Irish riders, the aim will be to get the strongest on the team into a good position in the hope that they can limit any losses and ride into a good overall position.

The squad of O’Loughlin, Deignan, McCann, Denis Lynch, Eugene Moriarty, Paul Griffin and Tim Barry got a fine reception at the team presentation earlier today. Eurosport’s David Duffield did a good job of building them up to the appreciative crowd and, while, their palmares are dwarfed by those of some of the professional riders in the race, the team will set out tomorrow with the goal of making an impression during this Tour. Twelve months ago Tommy Evans posted a very plucky ride, throwing caution to the wind and attacking constantly throughout the race; the Hibernian Team Ireland squad are back after a four year absence and will be similarly keen to make their presence noted, and so increase the chances of a repeat invite next year.

Training run in Langkawi

Team Presentation

Jack Watson, Commissaire and Pat McQuaid, Race Organisation

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO THE TOUR OF LANGKAWI: (From Shane Stokes in Langkawi Feb 4) Just two days remain until the start of the 2004 Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia, a ten stage, 1250 kilometre, 2.2 ranked race now in its ninth year. Featuring a prize fund of over €300,000 and benefiting what is reportedly the fourth-highest budget in cycling (after the Grand Tours of Italy, France and Spain), the superbly organised event has attracted some of the world’s top riders and teams over the years.

This year’s route features varied terrain, with a number of flat stages favouring the sprinters and rouleurs, a short time trial which will please those specialists against the clock and three stages featuring high mountains. All in all, it is a balanced route which, when taken together with daily temperatures of 35-40 degrees, provides excellent preparation for those getting their seasons underway.

Stage 1, Friday 6th February. Pinang – Taiping, 112 kilometres
The 2004 Tour of Langkawi gets underway with a short, flat 112 kilometre leg from the island of Pinang to Taiping. The route is almost totally flat, includes hot-spot sprints at Simpang Ampat, Bagan Serai and Kamunting and concludes with two laps of a finishing circuit. Fast racing can be expected as riders come into the new season with enthusiasm.
Stage 2, Saturday 7th February. Ipoh – Tanah Rata, 151.6 kilometres
If, as expected, a sprinter came out best on day one, the following stage provides a good opportunity for the climbers to wrest the yellow jersey from his shoulders. The race leaves Ipoh and passes through hot-spot sprints at Mambang Diawan (54.6 km) and Tapah (89.4 km), then almost immediately hits the foothills of the day’s two big climbs. Rising up to 1471 metres in sixty kilometres, the two-tiered ascent up to Ringlet and then on to Tanah Rata is not particularly steep but should still provide good opportunity for the lighter riders to apply the pressure.
Stage 3, Sunday 8th February. Tapah – Raub, 171.2 kilometres
Day three on the road sees the riders encounter intermediate sprints at Sungkai (22.3 kilometres), Slim River (44.9 kilometres) and Proton City (73 kilometres), before the 881 metre ascent of Gap. The summit comes 35 kilometres from the finish, providing a good springboard for attackers to shake off the control imposed by the sprinters’ teams.
Stage 4, Monday 9th February. Hulu Kelang – Tampin, 147.8 kilometes
The climbers take a temporary back seat while the race returns to flatter terrain. The hills at Mantin (fourth category), Bukit Putus (second category) and Senaling (third cat) will favour the opportunist rather than the grimpeur, while three hot spots sprints will also add some oomph to what should be a fast, aggressive stage.
Stage 5, 10th February. Melaka – Melaka individual time trial, 18 kilometres.
If the first four days of racing haven’t succeeded in separating the riders, today’s 18 kilometre time trial should do just that. Pancake flat, this race against the clock will impose an element of order on the general classification. The time gaps may not be huge but in the final rundown of places, seconds won or lost here will make a difference to the overall.
Stage 6, 11th February. Muar – Johor Bahru, 172.5 kilometres.
Another totally flat stage, with intermediate sprints at Parit Sulong (32.9 kilometres), Simpang Renggam (99.8 kilometres) and Bukit Batu (120.4 kilometres) livening up the action. Riders who lost time yesterday will be gunning to regain it, but the fast run in to Johor Bahru will have the sprinters and their teams seeking to mop everything up in the hope of a big bunch finish.
Stage 7, 12th February. Pontian – Melaka, 166.7 kilometres.
Yet another flat route but one which winds along the coast and so may expose the riders to strong crosswinds. Sprints at Benut (16.7 kilometres), Semerah (86.9 kilometres) and Muar (119.2 kilometres) should pave the way for another big gallop, this time into Melaka.
Stage 8, 13th February. Port Dickson – Shah Alam, 96.4 kilometres.
The race heads inland towards Kuala Lumpur before swinging left to finsh in Shah Alam. Today’s race is just 96.4 kilometres but Petronas sprints at Lukut, the Formula One track at Sepang and at Dengkil, plus the fourth category climb of Ladang Bukit Pelandok will liven things up somewhat.
Stage 9, 14th February. Kuala Lumpur – Genting Highlands, 131.6 kilometres.
This is the stage, the one every climber wants to win and every flatlander dreads. The climb of the Genting Highlands comes just one day before the end of the 2004 Tour de Langkawi and, as always, it will have a massive impact on the race. At twenty five kilometres long and 1716 metres high, only those in excellent form can entertain hopes of finishing to the fore here.
Stage 10, 15th February. Kuala Lumpur criterium, 80.4 kilometres.
Traditionally, many of the world’s big stage races finish with a flat speedfest around the streets, an exciting display which grasps the attention of the watching public but often has little effect on the overall standings. Unless time gaps are miraculously tight at this point, today’s race will be for the sprinters, with the yellow jersey trying to stay out of trouble and savouring his time in the spotlight.

Map of the route