LTdL 2022: Mareczko wins Stage 4 TSG’s Harrif Salleh loses momentum to avoid crashing
MERU RAYA – Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jakub Mareczko came out on top at the 2022 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) Stage 4 today with a time of 3h 15m 37s in the 137.9km-route from Sabak Bernam to Meru Raya.
This would be his fourth time being a stage winner at LTdL as he was also triumphant at the 2016 edition Stage 6 as well as Stage 3 and 7 the year after.
“The weather was much better today. No rain, (so) everything went according to plan for me.
“There are stronger contenders out there, but I will continue to do my best.
“I do not know what to expect for tomorrow, but I will just go through the LTdL day by day,” said the 28-year-old.
Lotto Soudal’s Rudiger Selig and Eduard-Michael Grosu of Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli came in second and third place, respectively.
However, the overall standings of the general classification (yellow jersey) remain with Ivan Sosa (Movistar).
The same goes for the best sprinters’ classification (green jersey) currently held by Gleb Syritsa (Astana-Qazaqstan) as well as Nur Aiman Zariff (TSG) in the best climbers’ classification (red jersey).
‘TSG’s Harrif Saleh almost got into an accident’
Meanwhile, Harrif Saleh of Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team (TSG) rider nearly met with an accident as he was trying to avoid a crash site roughly into the final 500m.
The accident took out a number of riders including his teammate, Youcef Reguigui.
“My speed was good, and I was in a good position, I think I was within the top 10.
“I could almost catch up so close to the finish line, but I lost the momentum the moment I slowed down to avoid the crash.
“My intention is to get at least a podium finish, but it was not meant to be,” said the 34-year-old.
Meanwhile, national team’s Kee Zhe Yie made it as the best Malaysian on the stage, being the 19th rider to cross the line in the same group as Mareczko.
Stage 5 of LTdL tomorrow will start from Kuala Kangsar and ends in Kulim, covering 172km and featuring a Category 2 climb at Sumpitan.
source – The Vibes
