KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Aug – Two WorldTeams and eight ProTeams have officially confirmed to heat up the 30th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi 2026 (LTdL2026), scheduled to take place from 27 September to 4 October.
Completing the 20-team line-up for this year’s race are nine Continental teams and the Malaysian National Team, all set to tackle the 1,285.5km route spanning eight stages.
The two WorldTeams confirming their participation are Kazakhstan’s XDS Astana and Dutch outfit Picnic PostNL while the eight ProTeam entrants feature Tudor Pro Cycling Team (Switzerland); Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Equipo Kern Pharma and Burgos-Burpellet (Spain); TotalEnergies and Unibet Rose Rockets (France); Bardiani CSF-Saber (Italy) and newcomer Modern Adventure Pro Cycling from the United States.
The nine Continental setups comprise of Terengganu Cycling Team and Malaysia Pro Cycling (Malaysia); Thailand Continental Cycling Team (Thailand); 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines (Philippines); Nusantara Cycling Team (Indonesia); WheelTop Rotor Chengdu Cycling Team (China); Aisan Racing Team (Japan); KSPO (South Korea) and St George Continental Cycling Team (Australia).
In contrast to last year’s 22-team field, two notable omissions from the start list are ProTeam outfits Uno-X Mobility and Polti VisitMalta.
National Sports Council (NSC) Director-General, Jefri Ngadirin stated that while the total number of teams has been reduced compared to last year’s edition, it remains fully compliant with the ProSeries race quota set by UCI.
“The primary reason for reducing the team quota is part of cost-saving measures implemented across all government ministries, departments and agencies in light of current national economic and global geopolitical uncertainties.
“LTdL achieved these savings through two key areas – reducing appearance fees and travel allowances for WorldTeams. We declined requests from teams such as EF Education and Uno-X, as Astana and Picnic PostNL had confirmed their entries earlier,” said Jefri during the official team lineup announcement at MSN, Bukit Jalil, today.
Furthermore, stages on Langkawi Island were omitted from this year’s route as part of logistics cost-containment measures, which typically incur high operational expenditure.
Nevertheless, with a lineup featuring two WorldTeams and eight ProTeams, LTdL26 is expected to maintain a high level of competition, fierce, thrilling and unpredictable – especially with three formidable mountain stages at Gunung Jerai, Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.
“Astana, Picnic and Tudor regularly feature in cycling’s three Grand Tours which is the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana. TotalEnergies and Caja Rural also race the Tour de France, Bardiani and Unibet compete in the Giro while Kern Pharma and Burgos feature in the Vuelta.
“Therefore, the teams confirmed for this edition are formidable contenders in top-tier global cycling and I am confident they will field strong rider combinations to secure victory,” Jefri added.
Newcomer Modern Adventure Pro Cycling is a newly formed team this year. However, the South Carolina-based setup is guided by world cycling legend George Hincapie, a former lead domestique for Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans, alongside former Tour de France and Giro stage winner Bobby Julich.
Jefri added that MSN, as the main organiser, eagerly awaits the final rider rosters to be submitted by respective teams, given that this year’s route profile is regarded as one of the most grueling in the race’s history since its inception in 1996.
“Some teams have submitted initial rider lists, but we expect them to make a last-minute revisions and field their strongest lineups. Achieving top results means securing crucial UCI ranking points, especially in these end season races,” Jefri noted.
LTdL2026 will flag off from Shah Alam on 27 September and conclude in Putrajaya on 4 October, covering a total distance of 1,285.5 km across eight stages. Classified as a 2.ProSeries event on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, the race is co-organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through MSN in collaboration with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
LTdL 2026 – TEAMS
UCI WORLDTEAMS
- XDS Astana (Kazakhstan)
- Picnic PostNL Netherlands)
UCI PROTEAMS
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team (Switzerland)
- Caja Rural-Seguros RGA (Spain)
- Equipo Kern Pharma (Spain)
- Burgos-Burpellet (Spain)
- TotalEnergies (France)
- Unibet Rose Rockets (France)
- Bardiani CSF-Saber (Italy)
- Modern Adventure Pro Cycling (USA)
UCI CONTINENTAL
- Terengganu Cycling Team (Malaysia)
- Malaysia Pro Cycling (Malaysia)
- Thailand Continental Cycling Team (Thailand)
- 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines (Philippines)
- Nusantara Cycling Team (Indonesia)
- WheelToprotor Chengdu Cycling Team (China)
- Aisan Racing Team (Japan)
- KSPO (South Korea)
- St George Continental Cycling Team (Australia).
NATIONAL TEAM
- Malaysia National Team
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