It was repeat victory for Andrea Guardini (Astana) at the 2nd Tour de Langkawi stage today. Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) was 2nd once again with Jakub Mareczko (Southeast) in 3rd position.
In traditional Tour de Langkawi style, there was a small break of 6 riders who went clear early on in the stage. Team Astana and Orica-Greenedge were the two teams on duty at the head of the peloton, keeping the escapees in check. With the gap at not much more than 2 minutes for the entire stage, it was a matter of when and not if they would be caught.
With 10km to go it was time to neutralise the racing and the fugitives were reeled in. There was quite a downpour at the finish line just before the riders arrived, making for a tricky run-in to the finish on the wet roads. Once again MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung were riding in support of Youcef Reguigui. The chaotic sprint saw the Algerian slightly boxed in and had to settle for 13th on day.
Michel Cornelisse – Sport Director
It was another sprint day where a small break got a gap. The yellow jersey team controlled the peloton, making sure there was a sprint finish. Youcef was in the mix but as sprinting goes there was just no way through today. We try again tomorrow.
