The Malaysian trip for Matteo Malucelli had not started in the best way, but as soon as the race began, the XDS Astana team athlete left no room for doubt: at the Tour de Langkawi, he is the strongest rider in the sprint. The Romagna-born rider triumphed in the sprint in the opening stage of the Malaysian stage race after 193 km from Shah Alam to Kampar. The work of his teammates was crucial as they controlled the race and then closed down on Zeb Kyffin, who had attempted to surprise the peloton in the final kilometers. Second place went to Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling), third to Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural Seguros)

THE RACE. A very long stage opened the thirtieth edition of the Tour de Langkawi, 193 km from Shah Alam to Kampar, a section with no climbing difficulties and perfect for a sprint finish. The breakaway of the day formed just a few kilometers after the start and featured 4 athletes: Javier Ibanez (Team Caja Rural), Pablo Carrascosa (Equipo Kerrn Pharma), Andrei Stepanov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team) and Muhammad Nur Aiman Bin Rosli (Terengganu Cycling Team). The breakaway riders managed to gain a maximum advantage of 1'30" over the peloton, where XDS Astana and St. George worked hard to keep the situation under control. With 60 km to go, Ibanez and Stepanov remained alone at the head of the race.

Thanks to the excellent work of the Kazakh team, the peloton regrouped 38 km from the finish, but it was not so straightforward to reach the sprint. At 4.5 km, Zeb Kyffin, already a stage winner in the previous edition, launched a solo attack that earned him up to 20" advantage over the peloton. The XDS Astana team gave everything and brought the compact peloton to contest the sprint. Matteo Malucelli was thus able to perfectly complete the work of his teammates and achieve his seventh stage victory in the Malaysian race.

Tomorrow the Taiping - Gunung Jerai stage is scheduled, an unprecedented 145.6 km section that will see the peloton tackle an unprecedented and difficult final climb.

STAGE RESULTS

1 Malucelli Matteo XDS Astana Team 4:06:53

2 Pickrell Riley Modern Adventure Pro Cycling ,,

3 Gaviria Fernando Caja Rural - Seguros RGA ,,

4 Augé Ronan Unibet Rose Rockets ,,

5 Villar Iker Caja Rural - Seguros RGA ,,

6 Álvarez Rodrigo Burgos Burpellet BH ,,

7 Oda Hijiri Aisan Racing Team ,,

8 Syritsa Gleb XDS Astana Team ,,

9 Van Den Boer Seppe Tudor Pro Cycling Team ,,

10 Cettolin Filippo Bardiani CSF 7 Saber

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 Malucelli Matteo XDS Astana Team 4:06:43

2 Ibáñez Javier Caja Rural - Seguros RGA 0:03

3 Pickrell Riley Modern Adventure Pro Cycling 0:04

4 Gaviria Fernando Caja Rural - Seguros RGA 0:06

5 Stepanov Andrei Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team ,,

6 Rosli Muhammad Nur Aiman Bin Terengganu Cycling Team ,,

7 Kelemen Petr Tudor Pro Cycling Team 0:09

8 Augé Ronan Unibet Rose Rockets 0:10

9 Villar Iker Caja Rural - Seguros RGA ,,

10 Álvarez Rodrigo Burgos Burpellet BH ,,