BUKIT MERTAJAM – Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team (TSG) are looking to wrestle the white jersey from the grasps of the national team at Stage 4 of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today.
Stage 4 will see the ProSeries road cycling race start in Bukit Mertajam and finish in Meru Raya, covering a distance of 140.2km.
TSG sporting director Mohd Saiful Anuar Aziz believes the white jersey for the Best Asian Rider classification is still up for grabs.
“Today’s route is quite flat, so we will try to get Harrif Saleh onto the podium.
“Our best climbers are not here, and it’s tough to compete with the Europeans, so we will target the white jersey and a podium for Harrif.
“Genting Highlands (Stage 5) will be the decider for the white jersey and overall classification,” he said.
TSG held the polka dot jersey for the King of the Mountain (KOM) classification in the first two stages through Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff and Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki.
But yesterday neither was able to shine on a climb-heavy route, which saw Swiss Simon Pellaud from Tudor Pro Cycling Team dominate, winning three out of the four climbing zones in Jeli, Puncak Titiwangsa, and Sri Banding.
“I think the KOM jersey is out of our reach.
“Our riders are way behind the Tudor cyclist (Pellaud),” he said.
Meanwhile, national team coach Mohd Yusuf Abdul Nasir is hell-bent on keeping the white jersey that Mohammad Nur Aiman Rosli won yesterday.
“We want to defend the white jersey before going up Genting Highlands tomorrow.
“We will try our level best to keep that jersey,” said Yusuf. – September 26, 2023