Matteo Malucelli reasserts Le Tour de Langkawi sprint power with stage 1 victory in photo finish ahead of Riley Pickrell

It was a win that was hard-earned not just because he had to chase Pickrell down. The crash on Saturday had left Malucelli getting x-rays on his hand and receiving treatment, plus his team was left doing much of the work to make sure it came to a sprint given the mark they made on the race last year, with three victories from Malucelli and then, after the Italian crashed out on stage 6, Aaron Gate also stepped up to secure another on stage 8.

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“The team did a really good job at the start to control the race because everybody knows that here we are the stronger team for the sprint,” Malucelli told the media after the stage. “So we did a really good job delivering during the stage, and at the end they did a super lead out for me.

“It’s not easy because everybody looks to us, but if you have a good legs, you can do a good job.”

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Even before the riders had set of there was little doubt that the sprinters would be determined to come out and play on the 193km stage from Shah Alam, given the climbing days ahead. That didn’t stop a wave of break attempts in the early part of the day, as riders set off in already hot and humid conditions, with the temperature over 30°C.

The only KOM, a category 4 climb at Meru, provided the initial incentive, coming at just 9km into the stage. That was won by Petr Rikunov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu), so for Monday at least, he has the jersey, which in this case is bubbles rather than polka dots given the drink sponsorship, sewn up.

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After that, the waves of attacks continued, ultimately with Aiman Rosli (Terengganu), Javier Ibanez (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), Pablo Carrascosa (Equipo Kern Pharma), Andrei Stepanov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu) and Liam Cuthbertson (St George Continental Cycling) forming a group of five out the front. Ibanez took the first intermediate sprint at 29km, and from the ever-shrinking lead group it was then Rosli that took the second at 48.2km

The riders continued to drop until it was just Ibanez and Stepanov out front for the third intermediate sprint at Teluk Intan at 149.8km into the day of racing. The top points went to Ibanez once again, and then they sat up and rejoined the XDS-Astana-led peloton, which was wearing the responsibility of making sure the day ended with a bunch sprint. It wasn’t, however, all sewn up, as Ibanez and Stepanov were caught by a late attack from last year’s stage 7 winner Zeb Kyffin (Terengganu), who was only pulled back within 2km of the line.

Now the sprinters have an entirely different challenge ahead for stage 2, with the time limit the goal rather than making it over the line first as Monday will deliver a 145.6km day from Taipang that finishes at the top of the Gunung Jerai climb.

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Preliminary top 10

Position

Rider (Country) Team

Time Gap

1

Matteo Malucelli (Ita) XDS Astana

4:06:53

2

Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure

Row 1 – Cell 2

3

Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

Row 2 – Cell 2

4

Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets

Row 3 – Cell 2

5

Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

Row 4 – Cell 2

6

Rodrigo Alvarez Rodriguez (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH

Row 5 – Cell 2

7

Hijiri Oda (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team

Row 6 – Cell 2

8

Gleb Syritsa (Rus) XDS Astana

Row 7 – Cell 2

9

Seppe Van Den Boer (Bel) Tudor Pro Cycling

Row 8 – Cell 2

10

Filippo Cettolin (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

Row 9 – Cell 2

*Cyclingnews attended Le Tour de Langkawi on an invitation/media package from the race that included travel and accommodation. In line with our editorial standards, our coverage is independent and was not subject to review, approval or influence by the organiser or any sponsor; no favourable coverage was promised or given in return.