KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 – With the inclusion of a new climb to Gunung Jerai as early as Stage 2, alongside back-to-back Hors category climbs at Cameron Highlands (Stage 4) and Genting Highlands (Stage 5), the 30th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi 2026 (LTdL26) is expected to feature the most intense competition in its history.
The new Category 1 route to the summit of Gunung Jerai offers 15 points to the winner in the King of the Mountains (KOM) standings, alongside bonus points. This is expected to prompt contenders particularly pure climbers to lay down an early marker as potential candidates for the overall leader’s jersey and the King of the Mountains jersey.
Whether they can hold their advantage or prove to be a false dawn, the subsequent back-to-back Hors category climbs, each offering 25 points at Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands, will prove decisive. The remaining three stages will offer only mild climbs for climbing specialists.
LTdL26 Chief Operating Officer (COO), Emir Abdul Jalal stated that the organisers intentionally selected Gunung Jerai for the upcoming tour schedule to runs from September 27 to October 4, to elevate the intensity of this year’s edition especially after last year’s route featured milder climbs at the Titiwangsa Range and Fraser’s Hill.
“The 145.6km Stage 2 route from Taiping to Gunung Jerai, which stands at 971 meters above sea level, begins shortly after riders pass the final sprint zone in Gurun,” said Emir.
“Although the remaining distance to the finish is relatively short, the steep gradient leading to the summit of Gunung Jerai is expected to test the riders’ endurance, causing the peloton to fracture into several distinct groups.”
Emir added that unlike last year’s competition, this year’s edition will be significantly tougher, making it one of the most demanding routes in LTdL history due to its three summit finishes, including the two Hors-category climbs in Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.
For the record, in 2024, Cameron Highlands (1,451m above sea level) paved the way for British rider Max Poole of Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL (now Picnic-PostNL) to emerge as the overall winner of LTdL24.
Meanwhile, Genting Highlands (1,629m above sea level) saw EF Education rider Simon Carr conquer its summit to claim the individual general classification title in 2023.
“With three summit finishes in this year’s edition, it is difficult to predict who will ultimately emerge as the overall individual winner, as the standings are bound to shift dramatically at the end of Stages 2, 4, and 5,” Emir added.
In total, the 1,258.5km route of LTdL26 features 2 Hors-Category climbs (KOM), 1 Category 1 climb, 1 Category 2 climb, 4 Category 3 climbs and 1 Category 4 climb.
The inclusion of three summit finishes is expected to heavily influence team selection strategies. Teams are aware that strong performances on the climbs will directly impact the overall results, particularly in the races for the general classification leader’s jersey, the King of the Mountains jersey and the overall team classification.
Emir noted that teams will carefully analyze these three stages in detail including Gunung Jerai, which makes its debut in LTdL as professional teams now have full access to detailed route profiles.
“I am certain they will field at least three climbers to ensure they can manage the mountainous terrain more effectively while strengthening their position in the overall team classification,” Emir added.
An interesting footnote from last year’s LTdL is that the top four finishers of Stage 5 at Fraser’s Hill were selected by their respective teams to race in this year’s Tour de France.
While the official team and rider start list is yet to be finalised, key figures from last year including LTdL 2025 overall individual winner Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies), Ander Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Yannis Voisard (Tudor) and Nicolas Vinokourov (Astana), have all competed at the cycling’s premier Grand Tour, making it highly likely they will spearhead their teams’ campaigns again this year.
The 30th edition of the LTdL26 tour is jointly organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN) and the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). Categorized as a 2.ProSeries event on the UCI-Asia Tour calendar, the race will flag off in Shah Alam on September 27 and conclude in Putrajaya on October 4, covering a total distance of 1,258.5 kilometers.
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