They proved best of the riders on the steep slopes of the climb, but the time gaps seen in previous years didn’t open up. That may have been due to the tough weather conditions, or perhaps the fact that the race is being held so early this year that riders are nervous about going too deep for too long. Whatever the reason, six riders came in within 17 seconds or less of the leading duo; Mirsamad Pourseyedi (Azad University) was a second behind them, while Denis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka) and Rahim Emami (Azad University) were two seconds further back.
The tipped Emanuele Sella rode for his Androni Giocattoi team-mate Monsalve and took sixth, five seconds behind. But perhaps the most impressive ride was by the Australian Lachlan Morton (Chipotle Development team), who finished seventh, eight seconds behind; he’s just 19 years of age and is surely a future star in the making.
At 21, Monsalve is also a promising talent. He gave thanks to others for helping him take the victory. “I would like to thank the team, the masseurs, the mechanics – everyone has worked really well for me,” he said. “Especially Emanuele Sella, who did a great job on the climb. I want to thank Gianni Savio who gave me the confidence. I did everything that he said. I remained on the wheel of Pozzovivo, and in the sprint I played it well with the help of Sella. He [Savio] told me that I can win the race today and we made it.”
Monsalve took the stage and the mountains jersey , but the jersey went to runner-up Nino Corredor. He said that the race has special significance for him, partly because of the country and also because it closes a chapter of his career.
“To tell the truth, I am very happy today. I am very happy to lead the Tour de Langkawi and to be in Malaysia. I didn’t know much about the country before I came, and it is even better than what I expected.
“I am very happy with today and now I hope I will be able to maintain the lead until the end of the Tour. This is my last race at continental level and so I hope for the best…after this I will return to Columbia and race at amateur level.”
Nino Corredor is riding well as very much a climber rather than a sprinter, but he will have to rely on his gallop in the days ahead. There are five flatter stages before the race ends in Kuala Lumpur, and he only has a two second advantage over Monsalve.
“The remainder of the race is relatively flat. I will count on my team, pay attention to the riders who are close to me on GC. I think I have good form, but I have to pay attention – it is very tight,” said the Le Tua rider, who returned to racing in September 2009 after a two year ban.
Another who will be sprinting it out for the various sprints is double stage winner Andrea Guardini. He holds the blue sprinter’s jersey but is actually level on points with Malaysian favourite Anuar Manan. The latter wants to once again win the points competition he took last year and a ferocious battle is in store between the two in the days ahead.
“Fortunately we have had two stages with breakaways. The riders in the breaks took the points and that gave us two rest days and I managed to recover, get some energy back for the five coming stages. These five stages will be very hard for me…I am not talking about the course as it is flat but there are many points up for grabs. There will be many sprints and I will try to retain this lead, mostly with stage finishes. I will also have to ride for intermediate sprints.”
All in all, it points to a very aggressive and tactical second half of the race.
How the race unfolded:
After a dizzying descent from the Cameron Highlands by team car, 123 riders signed on in very damp conditions and set off from Tapah for what is arguably the toughest stage of the Tour de Langkawi.
After three kilometres of racing, six riders clipped away from the peloton. These were Hilton Clarke (United Healthcare), Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano), Benjamin Gourgue (Landbouwkrediet), Gu Jang Kyung (Korea), Sea Keong Loh (Malaysian national team) and Bradley Potgieter (MTN Qhubeka).
As expected, sprint specialist Van Hummel took the intermediate gallop at km 19, edging out Potgieter, Loh and Clarke. The gap back to the bunch was two minutes 27 at this point, and increased shortly afterwards to two minutes 50.
The second intermediate sprint came at Slim River (km 41) and there Potgieter turned things around in beating Van Hummel. Clarke and Loh were next past the prime line. The riders were speeding along and covered 45 kilometres in the first hour of racing; the gap was two minutes 45 seconds at that point, and increased slightly to three. However the Aisan team of race leader Takeaki Ayabe and the Colnago squad of Domenico Pozzovivo were piloting the peloton and making sure the advantage didn’t get out of hand.
Potgieter took the day’s third and final intermediate sprint at Tanjung Malim (km 62), once again beating Van Hummel. Loh and Clarke were next. Thirty kilometres later, the gap was two minutes twenty seconds but several kilometres later, when they hit the bottom of Genting Highlands, it had dropped to one minute 50.
The steep slopes decimated both the bunch and the break, with the former splitting into three parts and the latter crumbling apart to leave Jang and Gourgue alone out front. Jang soon dropped his breakaway companion and opened a 15 second lead on him, with the Colnago-led peloton only another 40 seconds back.
The narrowing gap prompted French climber Pierre Rolland (Europcar) to jump across to Jang with seven kilometres to go. Unsurprisingly, the Korean rider was tiring and soon slipped backwards. Rolland continued on alone and held a 15 second lead over nine chasers, namely Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli), Jonnatha Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli), Pozzovivo, Hyosuk Gong (Korea National Team), Ghader Mizbani and Hozzein Askari (both Tabriz Petrochemical Team), Alex Coutts (Giant Kenda), Amir Zargari, Rahim Emami, Mirsamad Pourseyedi (all Azad University team), Lachlan Morton (Chipotle Development team) and Dennis Van Niekerk (MTN Qhubeka).
Rolland raced on past the five kilometres to go point and was joined soon afterwards by Morton, who was riding superbly for a 19 year old. The two rode well together and opened a 20 seconds gap over the Sella-led group, but were caught by the chasers with over two kilometres to go.
Pozzovivo attacked before the kite but was brought back; eight were together with one kilometre to go and of those, Monsalve proved to be the strongest in the final push for the line. He crossed the line just ahead of Nino Corredor, with Pourseyedi a second further back in third and netting the best Asian prize for the day.
Overnight leader Ayabe didn’t have a good experience on the climb and placed 38th, conceding six minutes 19 seconds to new yellow jersey Nino Corredor. The latter is two seconds clear of Monsalve heading into the second half of the race, which is far flatter and is likely to be fought out in time bonuses. Emami leads the best Asian rider classification, while his Azad University squad is best in the general teams' classification and that of the Asian squads.
Tomorrow’s sixth stage stretches 106.7 kilometres from Rawang to Putrajaya and features just two fourth category climbs, as well as three intermediate sprints.
