News for January 28

Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia

By Tommy Campbell in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

"Welcome to Malaysia" is the greeting that will welcome the participants and officials to this year's Le Tour de Langkawi inside the new international airport at Kuala Lumpur for the event which starts next Friday and concludes on Sunday week.

The setting for start of Le Tour is in the city of Putrajaya which has been transformed from a little known, even less remembered, rubber-producing town to become a city of the future. The opening stage is a time trial in this city with the final stage a criterium nine days later in Kuala Lumpur.

The event now in its seventh edition will yet again present a high calibre field of cyclists from all over the world. They will taste the action on Malaysian terrain and possibly endure punishing heat. Surviving the 10 day event will in itself be a feat.

A UCI status of 2.3 will enable the competitors on the 22 representative teams to get valuable UCI ranking points. The winner of each stage will be eligible for points and the overall winner will get 100 points.

Paolo Lanfranchi the Italian is back to defend the title he won last year in the colours of Mapei Quick-Step (Italy). Paolo also won the event in 1999. This year he is leader of Index-Alexia and on paper looks a safe option to go close, if not win the event outright again.

Whilst competition will be hard fought amongst the competitors, the support groups should, if they wish, get the opportunity to see the beauty of this country.

There is so much to see and do, that in one visit to Malaysia, appetites will be whetted to return and explore the beauty of this country again. It will become obvious as they drive along the highways and motorways that span this land that the benefit of a car radio is a blessing in disguise. It keeps you up to speed with broadcasts about road conditions and traffic.

The country is still very much a land of kampung (villages), jungles, beaches and rice fields, made much more appealing by a friendly, deeply religious and uniquely diverse group of peoples. Malaysia is simply beautiful and it has the warmth and greetings that makes you feel at ease in a foreign land.

Malaysia is situated in the middle of Southeast Asia, with a total area covering 132,000 square miles. It is the same size of Japan but only a fraction of the population (about 20 million compared to Japan's 125 million). It has thirteen states. The Malay population is made up of indigenous tribes which account for half of the populace plus Chinese, Indians and others who also come under the spectrum that is covered by the term "Malaysia".