LTDL 2024: DE KLEIJN WINS STAGE FOUR

BENTONG, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider, Arvid de Kleijn won stage four of the 2024 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) race, from Kuala Kubu Bharu to Bentong, a distance of 131.2 kilometres (km), today.

The 30-year-old Dutch cyclist managed to break away from the leading group in the final 300 metres to the finish line, clocking a time of 2 hours 53 minutes and 37 seconds, followed by JCL Team UKYO rider Matteo Malucelli and Polti Kometa's Manuel Penalver Aniorte.

The race commissioner awarded the same time of 2:53:37s to the top 10 riders as they all finished in a bunch amidst rainy conditions.

"It was also quite difficult today for the sprinters because there was a climb zone (KOM 1 GAP) but all the riders (the chase group) did a good job catching the breakaway group and I just focused on sprinting.

"It was a good win for me after making mistakes in the previous two stages. It was a useful learning especially in the sprints,” de Kleijn said .

Meanwhile, stage four of the race saw no changes in the contest for the three main jerseys of LTdL 2024.

The green jersey, representing the overall leader, remains with DSM-Firmenich PostNL rider Max Poole, with a total time of 12:57:35s, despite finishing 34th in the stage.

The white jersey for Best Asian Rider is still held by Manabu Ishibashi from JCL Team UKYO, while his teammate Matteo Malucelli continues to don the orange jersey (Sprint King).

As for the polka dot jersey (King of the Mountains), it was claimed by Burgos-BH rider Mario Aparicio Munoz after conquering the GAP climb zone.

Tomorrow, the fifth stage will take place from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka, covering a distance of 167.3 km, featuring sprint zones in Semenyih, Seremban, and Rembau, along with climb zones in Ampang, Bukit Hantu, and Bukit Mantin.

-- BERNAMA