CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Sept 30 – Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Cycling Team rider Petr Rikunov pulled off a surprise victory in Stage 4 of the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL26) at the summit of Cameron Highlands today.
In the 143km ride from Meru Raya, Perak, the Chinese Continental team rider left behind his two closest challengers in the breakaway group – Javier Ibanez Salazar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and TotalEnergies rider Alan Jousseaume to wrap the race in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 12 seconds, with an average speed of 40.81 km/h.
His achievement in bagging 25 points in the King of the Mountains standings allowed the 29-year-old Russian rider to wear the polka dot jersey, sponsored by Bubbles O2, from the previous holder and overall General Classification (GC) leader Lennart Jasch of Tudor Cycling Team.
Rikunov now has 29 points, 9 points ahead of Ibanez Salazar in the King of the Mountains classification – and has climbed to 18th place in the GC standings.
However, Jasch, who arrived in the main peloton 1 minute and 35 seconds behind Rikunov, retained the leader’s orange jersey sponsored by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), holding a 20-second lead over his closest contender, Abel Balderstone of Caja Rural.
Aisan Racing Team rider Yuhi Todome, who finished Stage 4 in 25th place, continues to wear the Best Asian Rider white jersey, sponsored by the National Sports Council (MSN).
The King of the Sprints blue jersey, sponsored by the 2027 SEA and Para Games Organising Secretariat (MASOC), remains with Stage 1 and Stage 3 winner Matteo Malucelli of XDS-Astana.
Rikunov who previously won the Tour of Poyang Lake and Tour of Qinghai Lake last year, as well as placing third overall in this year’s Xizang Trans-Himalaya, described his bold decision to join the initial six-rider breakaway group as a strategy that paid off.
“Before coming to Malaysia, I never thought I would win a stage here. While in the front group, we tried to stay as far ahead as possible, but the group dwindled to just a few riders once the climb began.
“Having nearly a 4 minutes gap, allowed us to push a fast pace even as the peloton tried to chase us down. With 1km to go, I felt very confident and launched an attack that ultimately secured the victory,” said Rikunov, who admitted he is not a pure climber for the Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu team.
He added that representing a smaller team meant that attention was focused primarily on the WorldTeam and ProTeam riders, giving him a slight advantage as he was overlooked by other competitors.
Meanwhile, Jasch, who finished ninth in Stage 4, stated that his team’s plan was to control the tempo of the race.
“There was no pressure even with a group of 5 riders ahead. Moreover, my teammates provided great support and fortunately, the weather wasn’t too hot.
“What’s important now is to prepare for tomorrow’s stage and manage our energy well,” said Jasch, who admitted that he felt no threat of losing the leader’s jersey.
The top Malaysian rider in Stage 4 was Tsen Ren Bao (St George Continental), who finished in 39th place while TSG rider Kee Zhe Yie sits in 27th place overall.
At the end of Stage 4, two riders – Owen Geleijn (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Tulatorn Sosalam (Thailand Continental Team) failed to finish (DNF). As a result, only 112 riders will be at the starting for Stage 5, a 125.7km route from Tapah to Genting Highlands.
Stage 5 (Tapah to Genting Highlands) to flag-off at 10:00am, will feature three sprint zones in Slim River, Tanjung Malim and Batang Kali before riders ascend to the summit of Genting Highlands at an altitude of 1,629 meters above sea level.
LTdL26 covers a total distance of 1,285.5km with a 2.ProSeries status and is organised by KBS through MSN in full cooperation with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
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