PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Young South African rider Ryan Gibbons of pro tour team, Dimension Data became the fourth South African rider to secure the Yellow jersey as Best Rider Overall in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) which concluded here Wednesday.
Despite finishing fourth in the final stage (stage eight) that involved 97
riders, over a distance of 121km from Setiawangsa to Putrajaya, the 22-year-old
rider claimed the jersey after clocking an overall time of 29 hours 04 minutes
57 seconds throughout the eight stages to claim the title.
Australian rider Cameron Bayly of IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness and Italian
rider Alberto Cecchin of Team Wilier Triestina were second and third overall
respectively after finishing 33 and 35 seconds behind Gibbons.
The South African rider also grabbed the Teal jersey as King of Sprint after
collecting 75 points but failed to emulate Australian rider, the late Damian
McDonald’s feat of winning all three jerseys — Yellow (overall), green (sprint)
and Polka Dot — in the first edition of the LTdL back in 1996.
As the winner, Gibbons walked away with the LTdL trophy crafted with the
Eagle Statue, certificate and also winner’s plaque which was presented by Youth
and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
For the record, three South African riders– the late Ryan Cox of Barloworld
and David George, representing the South Africa National Team, won the yellow
jersey back-to-back in the 2005 and 2006 editions while Reinardt Janse van
Rensburg claimed the jersey last year.
Danish rider John Kronborg Ebsen of Infinite AIS Cycling Team won the Polka
Dot Red jersey as King of Mountain after amassing 36 points while Japanese rider
Hideto Nakane of Nippo Vini-Fantini bagged the White jersey as the Best Asian
rider.
Despite a less than impressive performance by the Malaysian riders, seasoned
campaigner Loh Sea Keong of Thailand Continental Cycling Team brought some
cheers to the local fans after bagging the Combativity Award as Most Aggressive
Rider in the final stage.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK