| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | February–March |
| Region | Peninsular Malaysia |
| English name | Tour of Langkawi |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI ProSeries |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | Malaysian National Cycling Federation |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1996 |
| Editions | 25 (as of 2020) |
| First winner | .svg.png){kind=small} Damian McDonald (AUS) |
| Most wins |  Paolo Lanfranchi (ITA) José Serpa (COL)(2 wins) |
| Most recent | Danilo Celano (ITA) |
The Tour de Langkawi is a multiple stage bicycle race held in Malaysia. It is named after the archipelago Langkawi, where the first edition started and finished. The race has been held annually since 1996, primarily in February. It usually consists of 10-day-long segments (stages) over 10 days, but has been reduced to eight stages over recent years. While the route changes each year, the Genting Highlands climb, the toughest in the tour, is always included. Tour de Langkawi is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC road race in the UCI Asia Tour calendar. The race will become part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020.
All stages are timed to the finish. Times for each completed stage are compounded; the rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to wear the yellow jersey. While the general classification garners the most attention, there are other contests held within the Tour: the points classification for sprinters, the mountains classification for climbers, the Asian rider classification for Asian riders, the team classification for competing teams, and the Asian team classification for competing Asian teams.
History
The Tour de Langkawi was conceived by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad to put Malaysia "on the world sporting and tourism map".[1] The first race was held in 1996. It was Asia's richest bicycle race[2] with total prize money of RM1.1 million.[1]
In 1997, the teams Mapei and MG from Italy and the team Casino from France refused to participate in the second stage of the Tour as a protest against long delays in the delivery of their bicycles and luggage caused by insufficient numbers of cargo handlers at provincial airports in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Organisers officially cancelled the second stage, though an unofficial shortened version was held.[2] Since then, the race has never re-visited Sabah or Sarawak.
The final stage of the race was cancelled twice due to heavy rain in 2003[3] and 2006.
During the first stage in 2004, police allowed vehicles onto the course by mistake. Riders mutually decided to neutralise the stage.[4]
In 2008, the Genting Highlands climb stage was replaced by Fraser's Hill. Due to 150,000 visitors converging on the Genting Highlands resort area to celebrate Chinese New Year, officials would not be able to close roads along the race route to insure the safety of riders and the public.[5] The Genting Highlands climb stage returned to the Tour in 2009.
Past winners
General classification
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Australia | Damian McDonald | Giant–AIS |
| 1997 | Italy | Luca Scinto | MG Maglificio–Technogym |
| 1998 | Italy | Gabriele Missaglia | Mapei–Bricobi |
| 1999 | Italy | Paolo Lanfranchi | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2000 |  United States | Chris Horner | Mercury Cycling Team |
| 2001 | Italy | Paolo Lanfranchi | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2002 | Colombia | Hernán Darío Muñoz | Colombia–Selle Italia |
| 2003 | United States | Tom Danielson | Saturn Cycling Team |
| 2004 | Colombia | Fredy González | Colombia–Selle Italia |
| 2005 |  South Africa | Ryan Cox | Barloworld |
| 2006 | South Africa | David George | South Africa (national team) |
| 2007 |  France | Anthony Charteau | Crédit Agricole |
| 2008 |  Moldova | Ruslan Ivanov | Diquigiovanni–Androni |
| 2009 | Colombia | José Serpa | Diquigiovanni–Androni |
| 2010 |  Venezuela | José Rujano | Androni Giocattoli |
| 2011 | Venezuela | Jonathan Monsalve | Androni Giocattoli |
| 2012 | Colombia | José Serpa | Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela |
| 2013 | Colombia | Julián Arredondo | Team Nippo–De Rosa |
| 2014 |  Iran | Samad Pourseyedi | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2015 |  Algeria | Youcef Reguigui | MTN–Qhubeka |
| 2016 | South Africa | Reinardt Janse van Rensburg | Team Dimension Data |
| 2017 | South Africa | Ryan Gibbons | Team Dimension Data |
| 2018 |  Russia | Artem Ovechkin | Terengganu Cycling Team |
| 2019 | Australia | Benjamin Dyball | Team Sapura Cycling |
| 2020 | Italy | Danilo Celano | Team Sapura Cycling |
Points classification
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Australia | Damian McDonald | Giant–AIS |
| 1997 | Italy | Luca Scinto | MG Maglificio–Technogym |
| 1998 | United States | Fred Rodriguez | Saturn Cycling Team |
| 1999 |  New Zealand | Graeme Miller | New Zealand (national team) |
| 2000 | .svg.png){kind=small} Canada | Gordon Fraser | Mercury Cycling Team |
| 2001 | Italy | Paolo Bettini | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2002 | South Africa | Robert Hunter | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2003 | Australia | Graeme Brown | Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo |
| 2004 | Canada | Gordon Fraser | Health Net–Maxxis |
| 2005 | Australia | Graeme Brown | Ceramica Panaria–Navigare |
| 2006 |  Germany | Steffen Radochla | Wiesenhof–AKUD |
| 2007 | Italy | Alberto Loddo | Diquigiovanni–Selle Italia |
| 2008 |  Switzerland | Aurélien Clerc | Bouygues Télécom |
| 2009 | Italy | Mattia Gavazzi | Diquigiovanni–Androni |
| 2010 |  Malaysia | Anuar Manan | Geumsan Ginseng Asia |
| 2011 | Italy | Andrea Guardini | Farnese Vini–Neri Sottoli |
| 2012 | Italy | Andrea Guardini | Farnese Vini–Selle Italia |
| 2013 | Italy | Francesco Chicchi | Vini Fantini–Selle Italia |
| 2014 |  Lithuania | Aidis Kruopis | Orica–GreenEDGE |
| 2015 | Australia | Caleb Ewan | Orica–GreenEDGE |
| 2016 | Italy | Andrea Guardini | Astana |
| 2017 | South Africa | Ryan Gibbons | Team Dimension Data |
| 2018 | Italy | Andrea Guardini | Bardiani–CSF |
| 2019 | United States | Travis McCabe | Floyd's Pro Cycling |
| 2020 | Germany | Max Walscheid | NTT Pro Cycling |
Mountains classification
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Great Britain | Chris Newton | Great Britain (National Team) |
| 1997 | Italy | Luca Scinto | MG Maglificio–Technogym |
| 1998 | South Africa | Douglas Ryder | South Africa (national team) |
| 1999 | Italy | Alessandro Petacchi | Navigare–Gaerne |
| 2000 |  Mexico | Julio Alberto Pérez | Ceramica Panaria–Gaerne |
| 2001 | Italy | Paolo Lanfranchi | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2002 | Colombia | Ruber Marín | Colombia–Selle Italia |
| 2003 | Canada | Roland Green | Canada (national team) |
| 2004 | Colombia | Ruber Marín | Colombia–Selle Italia |
| 2005 | South Africa | Ryan Cox | Barloworld |
| 2006 | South Africa | David George | South Africa (national team) |
| 2007 | Colombia | Walter Pedraza | Diquigiovanni–Selle Italia |
| 2008 | Italy | Filippo Savini | CSF Group–Navigare |
| 2009 | Colombia | José Serpa | Diquigiovanni–Androni |
| 2010 | Australia | Peter McDonald | Drapac–Porsche Cycling |
| 2011 | Venezuela | Jonathan Monsalve | Androni Giocattoli |
| 2012 | Colombia | José Serpa | Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela |
| 2013 |  China | Wang Meiyin | Hengxiang Cycling Team |
| 2014 |  Ireland | Matt Brammeier | Synergy Baku |
| 2015 | United States | Kiel Reijnen | UnitedHealthcare |
| 2016 | China | Wang Meiyin | Wisdom–Hengxiang Cycling Team |
| 2017 |  Denmark | John Ebsen | Infinite AIS Cycling Team |
| 2018 | Colombia | Álvaro Duarte | Forca Amskins Racing |
| 2019 | Australia | Angus Lyons | Oliver's Real Food Racing |
| 2020 | Malaysia | Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff | Team Sapura Cycling |
Asian rider classification
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 |  Indonesia | Tonton Susanto | Indonesia (national team) |
| 1999 |  Japan | Hideto Yukinari | Japan (national team) |
| 2000 |  Hong Kong | Wong Kam-po | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2001 | Hong Kong | Wong Kam-po | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2002 | Indonesia | Tonton Susanto | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2003 | Japan | Tomoya Kano | Japan (national team) |
| 2004 | Iran | Ghader Mizbani | Iran (national team) |
| 2005 | Japan | Koji Fukushima | Bridgestone-Anchor |
| 2006 | Iran | Hossein Askari | Giant Asia Racing Team |
| 2007 | Iran | Ghader Mizbani | Giant Asia Racing Team |
| 2008 | Japan | Shinichi Fukushima | Meitan Hompo-GDR |
| 2009 | Indonesia | Tonton Susanto | LeTua Cycling Team |
| 2010 |  South Korea | Gong Hyo-Suk | Seoul Cycling Team |
| 2011 | Iran | Rahim Emami | Azad University Iran |
| 2012 |  Kazakhstan | Alexsandr Dyachenko | Astana |
| 2013 | China | Wang Meiyin | Hengxiang Cycling Team |
| 2014 | Iran | Samad Pourseyedi | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2015 | Japan | Tomohiro Hayakawa | Aisan Racing Team |
| 2016 | Malaysia | Adiq Husainie Othman | Terengganu Cycling Team |
| 2017 | Japan | Hideto Nakane | Nippo–Vini Fantini |
| 2018 | Kazakhstan | Yevgeniy Gidich | Astana |
| 2019 | Kazakhstan | Vadim Pronskiy | Astana City |
| 2020 | Kazakhstan | Yevgeniy Fedorov | Vino–Astana Motors |
Team classification
| Year | Based | Team name |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | | Giant–AIS |
| 1997 | | MG Maglificio–Technogym |
| 1998 | | Mapei–Bricobi |
| 1999 | | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2000 | | Mercury Cycling Team |
| 2001 | | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2002 | | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2003 | | Colombia–Selle Italia |
| 2004 | | Barloworld |
| 2005 | | Barloworld |
| 2006 | | Selle Italia–Diquigiovanni |
| 2007 |  | Giant Asia Racing Team |
| 2008 | | Diquigiovanni–Androni |
| 2009 | | Diquigiovanni–Androni |
| 2010 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2011 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2012 | | Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela |
| 2013 | | MTN–Qhubeka |
| 2014 | | MTN–Qhubeka |
| 2015 | | Pegasus Continental Cycling Team |
| 2016 | | UnitedHealthcare |
| 2017 | | IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness |
| 2018 | | Wilier Triestina–Selle Italia |
| 2019 | | Floyd's Pro Cycling |
| 2020 |
Asian team classification
| Year | Based | Team name |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 |  | Philippines (national team) |
| 1999 | | Malaysia (national team) |
| 2000 | | Japan (national team) |
| 2001 | | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2002 | | Telekom Malaysia Cycling Team |
| 2003 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2004 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2005 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2006 | | Japan (national team) |
| 2007 | | Giant Asia Racing Team |
| 2008 | | Seoul Cycling Team |
| 2009 | | Iran (national team) |
| 2010 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2011 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2012 | | Astana |
| 2013 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2014 | | Tabriz Petrochemical Team |
| 2015 | | Pegasus Continental Cycling Team |
| 2016 | | Wisdom–Hengxiang Cycling Team |
| 2017 | | Vino–Astana Motors |
| 2018 | | Astana |
| 2019 | | Vino–Astana Motors |
| 2020 |
References
- ^ a b "Wan Lokman seeks a tour de force in cycling meet". New Straits Times. 3 March 1996. p. 13. Retrieved May 2014.
- ^ a b Abt, Samuel (21 February 1997). "3 Pro Teams Balk at Logistics in Asian Bike Race". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2014.
- ^ Tan, Anthony (9 February 2003). "Bongiorno triumphs in KL; Danielson safely home". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved May 2014.
- ^ Tan, Anthony. "Sprintless finale to first day". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved May 2014.
- ^ Johnson, Greg (23 January 2008). "Fraser's Hill replaces Langkawi's Genting". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved May 2014.
External links
- Tour de Langkawi at cyclingnews.com
- Tour de Langkawi at cyclingarchives.com
- Tour de Langkawi at the-sports.org
- Tour de Langkawi at cqranking.com