Langkawi route to be revised?

One week after the Tour de Langkawi organisers announced a surprising new route which put the race's decisive climbing stage just two days into the event, the race's CEO hinted that the route may be reverted back to the traditional format after complaints from teams and some sponsors.

According to Malaysia's New Straight Times, CEO Datuk Naim Mohamad was entertaining the possibility of moving the mountainous stage from Tapah to the Genting Highlands from the second day to a spot sometime later in the nine stage event, as has been the case in previous years, but the change has yet to be confirmed.

"We had initially planned the route to meet several criteria and to ensure that costs can be reduced. But seeing that there have been some serious requests for a more traditional route, we will be considering this," said Naim. "It will be up to the organising committee to decide and for the Sports Minister to approve of the changes."

The 13 edition of Le Tour de Langkawi is scheduled to start February 7 in Alor Star, and finish up on the 17th in Kuala Lumpur.