After two second-place finishes behind Matteo Malucelli at the Tour de Langkawi, it was finally Riley Pickrell's turn to celebrate. The Canadian from Modern Cycling team got the better of the Italian rider, winning the sixth stage of the Malaysian race in a sprint finish. Another third-place finish for Seppe Van der Boer (Team Tudor).

THE RACE. Only 121.3 km to race, but an early start at the Tour de Langkawi to tackle the sixth stage. Looking at the elevation profile, it was clear the day would deliver spectacle, and from the beginning the athletes didn't hold back. The day's route from Pandan Inda to Rembau featured three categorized climbs, with two concentrated in the first 18 kilometers of racing, which immediately split the peloton. Between the first and second climb, Matteo Malucelli was caught in a crash and was immediately forced to chase back.

Given the limited opportunities remaining, several classics specialists attempted to attack from the first climb against leader Lennart Jasch, who put his Team Tudor teammates to work. The most decisive move came from Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH), already attacking yesterday, and Mathias Bregnhøj (Terengganu Cycling Team), currently seventh and eighth overall respectively. The two breakaway riders managed to gain up to 1 minute on the group of the general classification leader, which prompted Jasch himself to intervene personally to close the gap. With 85 km remaining, a group of around thirty riders formed at the front of the race.

In Malaysia today there wasn't a moment's rest thanks to athletes launching attack after attack. With 70 km to go, a group of four riders formed: Alan Jousseaume (Total Energies), Adne Van Engelen (Terengganu TSG), Julen Arriolabengoa (Caja Rural Seguros), and Keran Haug (Modern Cycling), joined by Juan Martinez (Picnic PostNL), Mikel Retegi (Kern Pharma), and Petr Rinkunov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team), the winner of the fourth stage. Meanwhile, after a long chase, Matteo Malucelli and the other sprinters managed to rejoin the main group.

The breakaway riders managed to gain up to 1'20" advantage, but immediately the XDS Astana team set to work to keep the situation under control.

The group came back together with 7.5 km remaining. In the final kilometers we witnessed several attack attempts, but the Kazakh team worked hard to keep the race closed and bring it to a sprint finish. Riley Pickrell was the first to launch his sprint, Matteo Malucelli tried to make up ground on the Canadian athlete, but today Pickrell was clearly the strongest and managed to secure his first professional victory.

Lennart Jasch maintains his position at the top of the general classification and should face a quieter day tomorrow, leaving room for the sprinters. The seventh and penultimate stage of the Tour de Langkawi will run from Melaka to Batu Pahat for a total of 158.9 km.

STAGE RESULTS

1  Pickrell Riley Modern Adventure Pro Cycling 2:40:06

2  Malucelli Matteo XDS Astana Team ,,

3  Van Den Boer Seppe Tudor Pro Cycling Team ,,

4  Townsend Rory Unibet Rose Rockets ,,

5  van Rees Christiaan Team Picnic PostNL ,,

6  Martinez Juan Guillermo Team Picnic PostNL ,,

7  Álvarez Rodrigo Burgos Burpellet BH ,,

8  Villar Iker Caja Rural - Seguros RGA ,,

9  Ibáñez Javier Caja Rural - Seguros RGA ,,

10 Díaz José Manuel Burgos Burpellet BH ,,

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1  Jasch Lennart Tudor Pro Cycling Team   21:38:39

2  Castellon Jan Caja Rural - Seguros RGA 0:42

3  Díaz José Manuel Burgos Burpellet BH 1:20

4  Fougner Eivind Broholt Unibet Rose Rockets 1:37

5  Gutiérrez Jorge Equipo Kern Pharma 1:55

6  Bregnhøj Mathias Terengganu Cycling Team 2:58

7  Christophersen Cedrik Bakke Unibet Rose Rockets 3:30

8  López Harold Martín XDS Astana Team 4:30

9  Covili Luca Bardiani CSF 7 Saber 5:31

10 van Engelen Adne Terengganu Cycling Team 6:03