KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 – Last year’s overall individual champion, Max Poole is not in Team Picnic PostNL line-up for this year’s PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2025 (PLTdL25).
Without Poole, the WorldTeam Team Picnic PostNL will be banking on the experience of Fabio Jakobsen as they begin the challenging eight-day PLTdL25 from September 28 to October 5.
With only one name from last year’s six-rider team lineup retained, Bjorn Koerdl, Picnic PostNL is counting on Jakobsen’s extensive experience as a sprint specialist to elevate the team’s profile, especially on the flat stages.
Undoubtedly, the 29-year-old Dutch-born rider from Heukelum will be counting on assistance from two of his teammates who can setup the pace in the final push namely Bram Welten and Dilion Corkery when they face off against other top sprinters.
PLTdL25 Chief Operating Officer (COO), Emir Abdul Jalal, said that although Poole’s absence might affects the excitement of this year’s race, Jakobsen’s presence makes up for it. Jakobsen has established himself as one of the world’s top sprinters, which will make the competition in the final dash to the finish line this year more open, intense and unpredictable.
“Jakobsen is a ‘big name’ as he has won one stage at the Tour de France and five stages at the Vuelta a Espana, including winning the Vuelta’s points jersey in 2021.
“With a collection of 46 career victories so far, including at the TdF and Vuelta, Picnic PostNL appears with the goal of winning a stage in the team’s second appearance this year. This is because, besides Jakobsen, his teammate Welten also has vast experience and is capable of pulling Jakobsen to the front of the peloton before creating space for the final sprint. Welten himself is capable of securing a stage win,” said Emir.
Welten, 28, who joined the team last year, has experience riding for other major WorldTeams like Arkea-Samsic (2020-2021), Groupama FDJ (2022-2023) and has ridden in three Grand Tours.
Without Poole, the battle for the overall individual green jersey this year also rest on the shoulders of 21-year-old rider Juan Guillermo Martinez who was signed from the ProTeam, Q36.5. Koerdl, 21, finished 50th overall last year as a support rider.
The Colombian rider was the King of the Mountains at the Giro della Valle d’Aosta last year, in addition to finishing an impressive third overall at the Tour of Turkey and eighth overall at the Tour of Rwanda this year.
Another rider sent by the team is Jurgen Zommermaand, 19, who is expected to take on domestique duties for Jakobsen, Koerdl and Martinez.
“It will certainly be interesting to see how Picnic PostNL is able to compete in this PLTdL25 as they will be strongly challenged throughout the eight-day race from Stage 1 in Langkawi Island to the final day of Stage 8 at KLCC,” Emir added.
PLTdL25 will consist of eight stages, covering a total distance of 1,243.5km which will traverse every state across Peninsular Malaysia. The 2.ProSeries status race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar is organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council (MSN) with the support of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
The race will begin in Langkawi Island on September 28 with the first stage covering a distance of 96.5 kilometers (km) followed by Stage 2 from Padang Besar, Perlis to Kepala Batas, Penang (170.1km); Stage 3 from Gerik, Perak to Pasir Puteh, Kelantan (198.2km); Stage 4 from Kuala Terengganu to Kemaman (140.8km); Stage 5 from Temerloh to Fraser’s Hill, Pahang (133.7km); Stage 6 from Shah Alam, Selangor to Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (123.4km); Stage 7 from Melaka to Medini, Johor (214.6km) and Stage 8 from Tangkak, Johor to Kuala Lumpur (180.5km) on October 5.
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL INITIAL LINE-UP
- FABIO JAKOBSEN (NED)
- BJORN KOERDL (GBR)
- JUAN GUILLERMO MARTINEZ (COL)
- BRAM WELTEN (NED)
- JURGEN ZOMMERMAAND (NED)
- DILION CORKERY (IRE)
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