PETALING JAYA, 25 Okt – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (Cahya Mata) menjalinkan kerjasama dengan Persekutuan Olahraga Malaysia (MAF), sekali gus mengumumkan perkongsian strategik serta memeterai perjanjian penajaan antara kedua-dua belah pihak.

Melalui perjanjian tersebut, Cahya Mata menjanjikan tajaan sebanyak RM5 juta kepada MAF selama tiga tahun berkuatkuasa 2023 hingga 2025.

Kerjasama itu memberi fokus kepada program pembangunan sukan olahraga dan akar umbi serta mempromosikan sukan itu di Malaysia.

Cahya Mata begitu komited ke arah kesejahteraan holistik atlet negara dengan memberi penekanan kepada peningkatan fizikal dan mental.

Perkongsian strategik antara kedua-dua pihak bakal dilengkapi dengan sumber, latihan dan sokongan yang diperlukan dalam usaha memperkasakan kerjaya atlet olahraga negara.

Secara tidak langsung ini akan memastikan mereka lebih berdaya saing dan berada pada kedudukan yang terbaik dalam landskap sukan di peringkat antarabangsa.

Melalui penajaan tersebut yang memberi kemudahan terkini serta khidmat jurulatih berpengalaman, MAF bersedia untuk memastikan atlet mencapai prestasi terbaik selain memupuk persekitaran bagi membolehkan mereka mencapai kecemerlangan.

Matlamat utama adalah untuk membantu atlet muncul selaku juara di peringkat antarabangsa sekali gus memartabatkan sukan olahraga di pentas global.

Prinsip utama Cahya Mata adalah memastikan kesejahteraan rakyat hingga ke akar umbi, keselamatan, tanggungjawab sosial korporat (CSR) dan penjagaan alam sekitar.

Hari ini Cahya Mata menambah satu lagi pencapaian penting apabila memberikan sokongan padu kepada atlet tempatan melalui kerjasama dengan MAF.

MAF yang mula ditubuhkan pada 1906 dan menjadi ahli gabungan Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) sejak 1998.

Persatuan tersebut telah memainkan peranan penting dalam pembangunan atlet olahraga negara selama ini.

Buktinya beberapa atlet olahraga negara menyerlah pada temasya Sukan Asia di Hangzhou, China baru-baru ini apabila kontinjen olahraga Malaysia meraih tiga pingat.

Justeru, perkongsian strategik antara Cahya Mata dan MAF bertujuan seperti berikut:

• Kesejahteraan atlet juara: Mengutamakan kesejahteraan seluruh atlet dan memupuk pendekatan menyeluruh terhadap sukan dan kesihatan.

• Memperkasakan kewangan dan sumber: Kedua-dua entiti ini berazam untuk memberi perhatian kepada kewangan dan mengekalkan atlet berbakat selain mendorong mereka mencapai kemuncak dalam kerjaya masing-masing.

• Mempromosikan kepimpinan dan perwatakan: Memberi penekanan kepada kualiti kepimpinan dan pembangunan sahsiah dalam diri atlet bagi membolehkan mereka mengekalkan profesionalisme serta penguasaan sepanjang kerjaya.

• Melatih dan mendidik atlet muda: Cahya Mata dan MAF membayangkan masa depan atlet muda olahraga dapat dikenal pasti lebih awal dan dipupuk ke arah kerjaya sukan profesional.

Pengerusi Kumpulan Cahya Mata, Jeneral (B) Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr) Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin berkata, bagi mengukuhkan kerjasama  tersebut beliau berkata: “Perkongsian ini mencerminkan kepercayaan kami terhadap potensi atlet olahraga negara. Komitmen kami adalah untuk memastikan bakat mereka dapat dimanfaatkan dalam melonjakkan pretasi demi mencapai kejayaan di pentas antarabangsa dan memperkasakan pencapaian Malaysia dalam sukan olahraga.”

Visi utama Cahya Mata dan MAF adalah sangat jelas iaitu untuk memartabatkan sukan olahraga secara keseluruhan dan menjanjikan agar atlet mendapat sokongan yang tidak berbelah bahagi sepanjang perjalanan karier mereka.

KUALA LUMPUR, 30 Okt – Kejohanan kanu antarabangsa, Pahang Ocean Paddle International Challenge (POPIC) 2023 bakal kembali menghangatkan bumi Pahang apabila dijadualkan berlangsung pada 3 hingga 5 November ini.

Memasuki edisi kedua tahun ini, POPIC 2023 yang menawarkan hadiah keseluruhan berjumlah RM117,000 bakal melibatkan tiga peringkat dengan jarak keseluruhan perlumbaan sejauh 48.5 kilometer (km).

Penasihat Acara POPIC 2023 Emir Abdul Jalal berkata, tiga pantai popular di Pahang menjadi lokasi perlumbaan bagi edisi kali ini dengan Rompin bakal membuka tirai sebelum POPIC 2023 berakhir di Kuantan.

“Peringkat Pertama POPIC 2023 akan diadakan di Pantai Rantau Panjang, Rompin dengan jarak melibatkan kategori antarabangsa dan kebangsaan sejauh 14km, manakala inter varsity sejauh 6km.

“Peringkat 2 pula dijadualkan bakal berlangsung di Pantai Lagenda, Pekan, juga dengan jarak sama bagi ketiga-tiga kategori berkenaan. Pantai Lagenda pernah menjadi lokasi POPIC pada edisi sulung tahun lalu.

“Peringkat terakhir iaitu Peringkat 3 bakal diadakan di Pantai Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan. Namun, jarak perlumbaan kategori antarabangsa dan kebangsaan lebih panjang iaitu sejauh 20.53km, manakala inter vasity kekal 6km,” jelas Emir.

Dengan tema Whack The Wave, POPIC 2023 mempertandingkan enam kategori – Terbuka Antarabangsa SS1 (lelaki dan wanita); Terbuka Malaysia TK2 (lelaki dan wanita) dan Inter Varsity (lelaki dan wanita).

“Untuk makluman, peserta tempatan yang menyertai kategori Terbuka Antaraban  gsa SS1 juga layak menerima hadiah kemenangan SS1 kebangsaan lelaki dan wanita.

“Hadiah diberikan kepada setiap pemenang peringkat perlumbaan, juara, naib juara dan tempat ketiga. Pemenang keseluruhan turut menerima hadiah dengan dikelaskan mengikut masa.

“Seperkara lagi, penyertaan dalam kategori Inter Varsity hanya terbuka kepada peserta yang menuntut di institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT). Jadi pelajar universiti dan kolej layak bertanding,” jelasnya.

POPIC 2023 dianjurkan kerajaan negeri Pahang dengan kerjasama Tourism Pahang dan disokong pelbagai agensi kerajaan selain mendapat sokongan penuh Persatuan Kanu Malaysia dan Persatuan Kanu Negeri Pahang.

Dianggap signatur baharu, penganjuran kejohanan bertaraf antarabangsa itu secara tidak langsung mampu merancakkan aktiviti pelancongan sukan di Pahang, sekali gus mempromosikan negeri itu kepada dunia.

Setakat ini, lebih 200 peserta dari dalam dan luar negara telah mengesahkan penyertaan masing-masing.

Jadual:

3hb : Pantai Rantau Panjang, Rompin

4hb : Pantai Lagenda, Pekan

5hb : Teluk Chempedak, Kuantan

JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 5 – Local boy Daeng Abdul Rahman turned back the clock when he
scored a two-under 70 for a three-day aggregate 213 to win the Camry Cup at Forest City
Golf Resort here today, defeating overnight leader Kemarol Baharin by one stroke.

Daeng, who is very familiar with the Legacy Course designed by Jack Nicklaus, exchanged
leads with Kemarol from the start but neither enjoyed a big lead over the other.

They were all square with three holes to go when Daeng birdied 16 to go one-up, and he never lost that lead. Both players birdied 17 and parred the last.

“It’s been a great tournament, everything was perfect,” said Daeng after collecting his
cheque for RM31,500.

“The course was in great shape and greens were fast. I thank everyone for putting up a great show. It’s fantastic to win again as my last victory was in 2017.”

The course was indeed in such good condition that this was the first event on the Toyota
Tour when “preferred lie” was not in play.

This was also the first time that Forest City has hosted a professional tournament. The Toyota Tour is organised by the Professional Golf Malaysia and delivered by MST Golf Group.

Meanwhile, Geraldine Wong registered her first win as a professional when she birdied the
last hole to finish with a 76 and a three-day aggregate of 220, edging Audrey Tan by a stroke. Victory assured the KL-born lass a cheque for a sweet RM10,000.

Geraldine, who turned professional in June, went into the 17th hole trailing her fellow rookie Audrey by a stroke. At the 18th, Geraldine found the green and was left with 12 feet to the hole. Audrey’s approach found a bunker.

“I wasn’t sure where Audrey’s ball landed, and I just focused on making a decent putt,” said the 23-year-old. Audrey gallantly splashed out but couldn’t save par, ending up with a
bogey. Geraldine knew a birdie would win her the tournament.

“My caddy helped me with the line, which was right to left and slightly uphill and I’m
extremely happy to have made that putt especially when I couldn’t make a putt the whole
day.”

Geraldine is looking forward to competing in Kota Seriemas for the Alphard Cup in two
weeks. After that she will head to Thailand and Taiwan to compete in their qualifying
schools.

For Audrey it was a great achievement since joining the pro ranks after earning her Toyota
Tour card three weeks ago at the Qualifying School at Palm Resort GCC. Order of Merit
leader Aretha Pan finished joint third with Dianne Luke on 224.

Final Leading Scores (Men)
213 Daeng Abdul Rahman 72-71-70 72
214 Kemarol Baharin 72-70-72
216 Kim Leun Kwang 73-72-71
218 Faisal Sabudin 73-71-74
220 Maveen Kumar 75-76-69
221 Khor Kheng Hwai 73-75-73
Ladies
220 Geraldine Wong 73-71-76
221 Audrey Tan 75-73-73
224 Aretha Pan 78-72-74; Dianne Luke 73-75-76
225 Ng Jing Xuen (am) 73-74-78
226 Durriyah Damian 76-76-74
231 Pang Hee Jie (am) 75-74-82

JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 4 – Shahrul Ikhzuan lighted up a high-scoring day when he
achieved a hole-in-one on the longest par three 8th hole during the second round of the
Camry Cup at the Forest City Golf Resort here today.

The Johorean from Kota Tinggi couldn’t believe he would be able to score an ace by using a
driver off the tee.

“It’s 247 yards slightly into the wind with the pin tucked back left,” said Shahrul, nicknamed ‘Black’ by his peers.

“We saw the ball land on t he front part of thegreen but couldn’t see where it ended.”

Playing alongside Shahrul coincidentally was Chan Soo Keong, the first player to score a hole-in-one on the Toyota Tour, organised by the Professional Golf Malaysia and delivered by MST Golf Group.

“Before we teed off on that hole, Chan said we had to score a hole-in-one and strangely
enough, I did it,” added Shahrul who, despite showing a 1 on the par three, will miss the cut for tomorrow’s final round.

Shahrul almost pulled out from this morning’s round as he was still feeling pain due to a fall
last Thursday which hurt his waist.

“But I’m glad I played on and now I’ve got my first holein-one,” smiled Shahrul who became the third professional to achieve an ace on the Toyota Tour.

Sukree Othman was the second, bagging his ace during the Supra Cup at The Mines
Resort Golf Club.

Meanwhile Kemarol Baharin played consistent golf to shoot to the top of the leaderboard
when he carded a two-under 70 for a two-day aggregate of 142.

Kemarol had an incredible seven birdies on his card but three bogeys and a double on the par four 4th prevented him from returning a lower score.

The fourth hole proved to be the hardest today, playing to an average of 4.71. Yesterday
during the first round, that hole averaged 4.83. In fact none of the men managed a birdie on this hole today.

Daeng Abdul Rahman managed to par this hole and in fact had just one bogey on his card.
With two birdies on hand, he managed to carve out a one-under 71 to go with the 72 he
registered yesterday and is lying second, just one stroke behind Kemarol.

“I’m happy to be in this position, where I am in contention once again,” said the 23-year-old who plays a lot of his golf here. At 15, he was the youngest amateur to win a professional event at the Danau Golf Club in 2015. He went on to add two more victories as a pro.

“But that was before Covid, so it’s been a while since I last won a tournament. I’m driving
the ball well and hopefully my familiarity with this Nicklaus layout will help me tomorrow.”

Another player making a comeback to professional competition is Hans Jamil. He opened
the first round with a forgettable 10-over 82 and seemed likely to miss the cut. Starting the
day on the back nine, Jamil was three over after nine holes.

After crossing over onto the front nine, he had a birdie on the third but bogeyed the fifth
and sixth. With three holes left to play, Hans knew he had to do something exceptional to
continue playing the tournament. He then birdied the 7th, parred the 8th and then birdied
the 9th to shoot a two-over 74 and make the cut on the mark.

“What a relief,” exclaimed Hans. “I know I have the game but I need to work on my physical and get into shape. My swing is there and I still have the hunger,” said Hans who is a swing instructor with MST GolfLab at the MST Golf Arena, Tropicana Gardens Mall.

Two bogeys and three birdies gave Geraldine Wong a one-under 71 for a two-day aggregate of even par 144 and a three-shot lead over amateur Ng Jing Xuen. Audrey Tan and Dianne Luke share third spot a further stroke behind.

Leading Scores (Men)
142 Kemarol Baharin 72-70
143 Daeng Abdul Rahman 72-71
144 Faisal Sabudin 73-71
145 Kim Leun Kwang 73-72
146 Azry Asraf 73-73; Wafiyuddin Manaf 74-72; Nazri Zain 70-76
147 Fakhrul Akmal 70-77
Ladies
144 Geraldine Wong 73-71
147 Ng Jing Xuen (am) 73-74
148 Audrey Tan 75-73
148 Dianne Luke 73-75

JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 3 – Four bogeys did not prevent Nazri Zain from taking the first round
lead of the Camry Cup when he knocked in six birdies for a two-under 70 and a slim one-shot lead at Forest City Golf Resort here today.

The Kelantan-born lad, who has yet to miss a cut over the last seven events of the Toyota
Tour was very pleased with his game and attributed his performance to patience.

“I’ve played mediocre so far this season but I feel like my game is slowly coming together,” he said.

Four players are bunched at one-under 71, including veterans Shaifubari Muda, Sukree
Othman, Kenneth De Silva and Syakir Adli.

Sukree was four-under at one point on his front nine, having carded four birdies but he gave it away with three bogeys on his way home.

“Gosh, the course is playing tough,” said Sukree who teaches at the Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam in Kuala Lumpur.

“The course is long and it was very windy, forcing us to hit rescue woods and long irons onto the greens. The par 3 eighth hole was really tough today, at 247 yards and into the wind. I had to use driver and was just short of the green.”

But Sukree, commonly known among his peers as the “short game specialist”, got up and down for a par and admitted that his short game helped him stay on track.

Shaifubari also agreed that the conditions were tough, especially when playing into the
wind.

“I think it’s a fantastic course, the layout is awesome and the fairways are in
immaculate condition. Its like you’re hitting off a carpet. But for the short hitters it’s a real
challenge.”

The course plays to a lengthy 7,386 yards but most of the pros felt like they were playing to more than 7,400 yards. Five players broke par but only one – Kenneth had a clean scorecard of no bogeys. His lone birdie came on the Par 4 ninth.

The Camry Cup is the eighth leg of the Toyota Tour that is organised by the PGM and
delivered by MST Golf Group.

The remaining legs are the Alphard Cup at Kota Seriemas Golf Club in two weeks, followed by the ADT Toyota Championship at Saujana GCC next month.

In the Ladies championship, amateur Ng Jing Xuen joined Geraldine Wong and Dianne Luke
on top of the leaderboard when all three “survived” the wind to register one-over 73s.

They carry a two-stroke advantage over Pang Hee Jie and Audrey Tan into the next round.
Order of Merit leader Aretha Pan wasn’t too pleased with her game and chalked up just a
lone birdie on the par 4 17th. Her card was disfigured by five bogeys and a double for a six-over 78.

Day 1 Leading Scores (Men)
70 Nazri Zain
71 Sukree Othman, Syakir Adli, Kenneth De Silva, Shaifubari Muda
72 Daeng Abdul Rahman, Kemarol Baharin, Wafiyuddin Manaf, Izzat Safuan, Nor Harith Hadi
73 Faisal Sabudin, Kim Leun Kwang, Khor Kheng Hwai, Azry Asraf, Muhazim Bakhtiar
74 Loh Junyou, Nateeshvar Ganesh (am), Syady Sheikh, S. Siva Chandhran,
Ladies
73 Dianne Luke, Ng Jing Xuen (am), Geraldine Wong
75 Pang Hee Jie (am), Audrey Tan
76 Jocelyn Chee, Durriyah Damian
77 Michelle Koh
78 Aretha Pan

MERU, 26 Sept – Czech rider Daniel Babor of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA timed his sprint perfectly in the last 200 metres to clinch Stage 4 of the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2023 at Meru Raya here, today.

Second-placed and yesterday’s Stage 3 winner George Jackson of Bolton Equities Black Spoke is now the overall race leader, taking over the PETRONAS Green Jersey from Italian Enrico Zanoncello of Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizane.

Zanoncello is second overall with a six-second deficit followed by the top favourite for tomorrow’s big climb in Genting, Simon Carr of EF Education-EasyPost who is 10 seconds adrift behind the leader.

The Tour which started in Kerteh, Terengganu on Saturday, has now seen four different winners from four different teams after four days of racing.

The 23-year-old rider, who is racing in his last race of the season here, had countrymate Tomas Bartab to thank for executing a great lead out which put him in a good sprinting position to the line, ahead of second-placed and yesterday’s winner yesterday’s winner George Jackson of Bolton Equities Black Spoke with a time of 3:06.05s. Belgian Sasha Weemaes of Human Power Health came in third.

Babor was elated with his win here after struggling throughout the year with just one stage win in Volta a Portugal (2.1) in August to show on his palmares this season.

“It’s my first major win in Asia and second stage win in top-level races this season. I’m not really in good shape and this is my last race of the season, so this win truly means a lot to me,” said Babor, who was fourth in Stage 4 in Kota Bharu, which was won by Astana Qazaqstan’s Gleb Syritsa.

Stage winners Arvid de Kleijn and Syritsa, the two top fast men heavily tipped to take the stage, lost out in the locked out in a hectic final sprint and had to settle for 8th and 10th placings respectively.

“I’m not actually in the best shape here, but after taking 4th place in Stage 2, I thought we could get better results but not a stage win. But today, in the last 20km, I felt good, got into the last corner first, had a good lead out and hit the line first,” said Babor, saying that he is now more confident of taking on the best in field such as Kleijn and Syritsa and deliver good sprint results for the team after today’s win.

Second-placed Jackson of Bolton Equities Black Spoke, yesterday’s Stage 3 winner, said he had a good lead out and gave his all in the last 200 metres but lost out to a better sprinter.

“I had a good lead out in the last 300 metres, came around the corner, tried hard but Babor was the fastest man today. I’m still happy with the results and we have a few more shots at stage wins after this,” said the Kiwi rider.

The day started with 121 riders signing on, with three intermediate sprints along the 140.2km flat route. A nine-men breakaway group charged strongly after the 8km mark which was later reduced to only three riders – Giulio Massoto of Corratec-Selle Italia, Muhammad Afiq Huznie of Nusantara Cycling and Nichol Pareja of 7Eleven Cliqq Air by Road Bikes Philippines. With 6km to go, the trio were subsequently reeled by the peloton.

Tudor, Astana and Green Project-Bardiani were scrambling to put their sprinters in the best position for the final sprint in the last few kilometres but in the end, Caja Rural’s Babor had the upper hand after slipping through into the last corner first.

Simon Pellaud of Tudor Pro Cycling Team Simon Pellaud kept the mountains classification’s TOURISM MALAYSIA red polka dot jersey for the second day with 20 points, ahead of Luca Covilli (Green Project-Bardiani CSF Faizane) with 12 points.

Rating his chances for tomorrow’s big climb in Genting, Pellaud said: “It’s going to be hard, but I will try to defend the polka dot jersey, especially against Luca Covilli who is 12 points behind me. My target is to be with the great climbing guys tomorrow,” said Pellaud, who picked EF Education-EasyPost top climber Simon Carr as the top favourites for tomorrow’s queen stage in Genting.

Dutch sprinter Arvid de Kleijn, who was out of position in today’s sprint, remained in KBS Orange Sprints jersey as sprints classification leader with 30 points, only a point ahead of close rival Enrico Zanoncello and George Jackson (Bolton Equities) with 27 points.

In the Asian classification, Thailand Continental Cycling Team’s Ratchanon Yaowarat is the wearer of the BEAUTIFUL TERENGGANU White jersey, after leading 4 seconds ahead of compatriot Thanakan Chaiyasombat and Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli of the Malaysian National team.

“I’m happy to be wearing the white jersey, but on top of that I’m happy over my fifth-placings in the GC after today’s stage with 12 seconds deficit behind the leader,” said Yaorawat.

Meanwhile, Giulio Masotto of Corratec Selle Italia, who was among the nine riders in the early breakaway group, won the Most Combative Award.

After four days of racing, tomorrow’s Hors climb to the summit of Genting (1,625 metres) will be the defining moment for teams and pure climbers as they tackle the 126.4km route with the winner of the stage likely be crowned as the eventual overall leader of the 27th edition of the Tour.

BALING, 25 Sept – GEORGE Jackson of Bolton Equities Black Spoke launched a powerful sprint to win a hard-fought 183.1km Stage 3 of the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2023 which ended in Baling, today.

Jackson staved off a chaotic final sprint battle against Green Project-Bardiani’s Enrico Zanoncello who had to settle as the stage’s second best.

A disappointed Zanoncello, however, managed to wrest the PETRONAS Green Jersey from Tudor’s Arvid de Kleijn, as the overall leader after Day 3 of the race.

Today’s fourth win of the season came as a sweet one for the Kiwi who, just a week ago, clinched two stages and the overall title of the Tour of Taihu Lake (2.Pro) in China.

Led out by teammate Matthew Bostock, the Wellington-born rider slipped through from fourth into the last corner, launching his sprint at the right time to brush aside Zanoncello with slightly over a bike’s length, but it was not enough for him to take over the GC standings. Second-placed Zanoncello emerged as the new overall leader with a time of 12.55.05.

It was supposed to be a stage for the pure climbers and GC contenders to rule but in the end, it was the 23-year-old Jackson, winner of this year’s Tour of Taihu Lake, who had the last laugh at the end of the tough stage.

“I’m pretty stoked with today’s win. It was a hard race but the boys did a great job of chasing the leaders all day. Towards the last 300 metres, Matt (Bostock) led me out, I was then fourth into the last corner, and sprinted as hard as I could to the line,’ said Jackson, adding that the team’s focus now is to look for another stage win and fight hard for the general classification.

Despite having the green jersey on his back, Zanoncello could not hide his disappointment of finishing second. “I was eyeing for a win today but in the end, George is the better rider. I’m disappointed and today’s jersey come as a consolation to me,” said Zanoncello who had stage wins in this year’s Tour of Qinghai Lake.

EF Education-Easy Post’s Simon Carr who is now third in the general classification with a four-minute deficit over the leader, will be the main man to watch when the race heads for Genting Highlands on Wednesday.

Despite losing the leader’s jersey, Tudor Pro Cycling team still had reasons to celebrate as Simon Pellaud, who was part of the nine-man early breakaway group, took over as leader of the mountains classification and new wearer of TOURISM MALAYSIA Polk Dot Jersey.

Pellaud took full points in three out of the four KOMs on offer today, including the Cat. 1 climb at Puncak Titiwangsa (1066 metres). He now has 20 points at the top with Bardiani’s Luca Covili trailing in second with 12 points.

Teammate and Stage One winner Arvid de Kleijn remains at the top of the Sprints Classification and will start tomorrow’s Stage 4 in the KBS Orange Jersey as the Best Sprinter. The Dutchman led the sprinters’ field but tied with Zanoncello with 27 points after three stages.

It was also a fruitful day for the Malaysian National Team who had Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli to thank for delivering the BEAUTIFUL TERENGGANU White Jersey as the Best Asian Rider.

Carr, among the main riders in the group of nine in the early breakaway, currently third in the overall standings, was voted as the winner of the day’s BUBBLES O2 Most Combative award.

The race started with 125 riders but ended with 121, with three riders failing to start and four dropping out on a day that saw three Giant Cycling Team riders failing to make it to the start line.

The three riders Lin Chuanyang, Wang Zichen and Huang Junlei were involved in an accident that saw their team van flipping over within the neutral zone in Jeli. The riders and driver of the van however escaped serious injuries.

Tomorrow’s Stage 4 from Bukit Mertajam to Meru Raya Ipoh over a flat route of 140.2km, presents sprinters with another chance of being on the winners’ podium with three intermediate sprints in Bagan Serai, Talang and Sungai Siput and a small Cat 3 climb in Kuala Kangsar.

KUALA TERENGGANU, 24 Sept – GLEB Syritsa stamped his brute sprinting strength in the last 50 metres to take Stage 2 from Kuala Terengganu to Kota Bharu, his second career win in the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi.

The 23-year-old Astana Qazaqstan Team’s top sprinter made amends for the mistakes of starting yesterday’s sprint from the far out which cost him a win, perfectly timed his sprint in today’s stage to edge out Dutch sprinter Arvid de Kleijn, to take his second career win in the Tour.

With 300 metres to go, De Kleijn was locked in a close tussle with Syritsa who stayed firm on his wheel, and came in second but remained in the PETRONAS Green Leader’s Jersey with a close 0.02s ahead of the Russian.

The Dutchman also kept the KBS Orange Sprinter’s Jersey on his back, accumulating 27 points to stay ahead of Syritsa who is now three points behind.

Italian Enrico Zanoncello (Green Project-Bardiani-CSF-Fanzaine), winner of this year’s Tour of Qinghai Lake (2.Pro), came in third.

“I’m so happy to have won and beat Arvid today. I got it all wrong yesterday, made a mistake in my sprinting tactics…but today, it was all good,” said the elated Russian sprinter, adding that it would be a tough ride in tomorrow’s Stage 3 hilly stage from Jeli to Banting. “We’ll see how it goes tomorrow,” he added.

De Kleijn conceded that Syritsa was the better man today, saying that he looks forward to more sprint battles with his close rival in the coming stages.

“My team did a great job in leading me out, but with 200 metres to go, I tried hard but in the end, I felt I didn’t have it today. There’s more sprint battles in the coming days, and I’m looking forward to lock horns with Gleb again,” said de Kleijn.

Meanwhile, the TOURISM MALAYSIA Red Polka Dot jersey changed hands with Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team’s Nur Amirull Fakhrudin Mazuki taking over from teammate Muhammad Nur Aiman Zariff, who is now second in the KOM standings.

Nur Amirull took full points in both KOM zones in Setiu and Pelong, amassing four points with Nur Aiman a point behind.

“The strategy today is for me to do the breakaway and stay ahead, and give Nur Aiman a rest and prepare for tomorrow’s hilly stage, which suits well for pure climbers.

It’s going to be crucial for us tomorrow and will give our best…we are hoping that our climbers like Jambaljamts Sainbayar, Nur Aiman and Jeroen Meijers stay in good shape for tomorrow,” said Nur Amirull.

The BEAUTIFUL TERENGGANU White Jersey remained with Roojai Online Insurance’s rider, Tegshbayar Batsaikhan as Asia’s Best rider, after completing the stage in seventh place.

Meanwhile, Caja-Rural Seguros rider, Calum Johnston took the BUBBLES O2 Most Combative award following his 50km solo effort after the 90km mark.

With no dropouts (128 riders) in today’s stage, tomorrow’s 183.1km hilly battle from Jeli to Baling is expected to be crucial, especially for the general classification contenders.

A Category 1 climb at Puncak Titiwangsa (1,066m), followed by two Category 2 and one Cat 1 climbs await teams and riders who will need to be in their best shape, physically, mentally and tactically.

PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2023 with the theme ‘Beat The Heat’ is organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN) and the support of the National Cycling Federation of Malaysia (PKBM), covers a total race distance of 1,278.1km.