LTdL 2024: Tension Builds As 132 Riders Awaits Flag-off Tomorrow

LANGKAWI, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- The heat of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024 cycling tour competition is increasingly felt as all 22 competing teams who are 'camping' in Kuah, here in the past three days wait for the flag-off tomorrow.

Asia's oldest cycling race with a distance of 1,190 kilometres (km) this time, covering eight stages continues to attract the attention of domestic sports fans as well as riders from home and abroad.

For this 28th edition, LTdL introduced two stages of the race held for the first time in Sarawak involving two cities in the state namely Bintulu and Miri which certainly adds to the uniqueness and appeal of the already iconic race in the region.

The 2024 LTdL race will start in Langkawi for Stage 1, followed by Stage 2 from Arau to Butterworth, Taiping to Cameron Highlands (Stage 3), Kuala Kubu Baru to Bentong (Stage 4), Kuala Lumpur to Melaka (Stage 5), Batu Pahat to Kulai (Level 6), Miri to Bintulu (Level 7), and Bintulu (Level 8).

The absence of challenging climbs in the Hors category in Genting Highlands which would normally be the deciding factor for the LTdL champion opens up the opportunity for all riders to compete for the overall championship (GC).

A total of 24 acceleration zones and nine climbing zones available will see a steady cycling experience in LTdL 2024.

The first stage (around Langkawi), the second stage (Arau to Butterworth), the fifth stage (Kuala Lumpur to Melaka), the sixth stage (Batu Pahat to Kulai) and the eighth stage (around Bintulu) are expected to end with the acceleration of a large number of teams containing experts sprint

LTdL 2024 chief operating officer (COO) Emir Abdul Jalal said he expected fierce competition among riders with a race strategy focused on sprint specialists and all-rounders.

"Just like last year, if we want to predict the overall champion, we look at who won the Genting Highlands route. Because the distance between first and second place is often wide.

"Although this year we have a route in Cameron Highlands, but the riders are going up along Simpang Pulai and the road is steeper and the time distance is not big compared to ascending from Tapah," he said.

This edition features three World Teams, namely EF Education Easypost of the United States, Astana Qazaqstan of Kazakhstan and DSM Firmenich PostNL of the Netherlands.

Malaysia is betting on three teams involving the national squad, Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) and Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) with a total of 16 national riders having the opportunity to compete in cycling with the world's most powerful riders.

The head coach of the national highway cycling squad, Mohd Yusof Nasir, expects the third, fourth and fifth stages to be the toughest challenge for his squad, which is on a mission to win the best team in Asia, in this LTdL campaign.

-- BERNAMA