Tour de Langkawi 2022 photo gallery - The last chance tour

The 2022 edition of Le Tour de Langkawi was one like never before. The field was the strongest ever seen, with six WorldTour teams joining the fray. The time on the calendar was flipped from early to late season and the usually dry and hot conditions at times gave way to deluges of rain, as even though it wasn’t yet time for the monsoon season it seemed determined to make an early arrival.

The race, with its exotic location and heightened drama of unusually wet weather, which led to one late course change after landslides on Gunung Raya, provided a dramatic location for what ended up being a last chance tour for many. 

The relegation battle that had initially pumped up WorldTour team numbers may have been all but settled by the time the October 11-18 race came around, but there was little easing the intensity of racing over around 1,100km from Kuala Pila to Kuah on Langkawi. There were still plenty of reasons to lay it all on the line.

Yes, some riders were tired from a long season and just content to wind down toward the off season somewhere completely different, with the lush forest, monkeys roadside and heat and humidity ever present. However, many from the Continental and national teams were looking at the race as a potential new beginning rather than an end, as they fought to deliver results that would get them noticed so they could make the step up to the top ranks.

Then there were others, who had already turned professional, fighting for those rare remaining team slots because they were now in the uncomfortable position of having no contract for 2023 whether it be because they weren't renewed or, like the Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli riders the future of their entire team was in doubt. That made the eight-day Malaysian tour a last opportunity to step into the limelight and keep their cycling career alive.

Then among those with the security of a team for 2023 there were still plenty of riders, as always, intent on chasing top results, hoping to end the season on a high note or make a last ditch effort to salvage something from a year that hadn’t gone to plan. 

Scroll through the stage to stage photo galleries to look back over the memorable moment from the race, won overall by Movistar rider Ivan Sosa. 

Stage 1 - Kuala Pilah to Kuala Lumpur

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The 157.3 km opening stage of the Tour de Langkawi set off past a golden-topped mosque in the town of Kuala Pilah and on the roads lined by cheering school children as the break was quick to form, with nine riders out front from the national and Continental teams, determined not to waste any moment of opportunity at the eight-day 2.Pro tour. 

The break included Trym Holther (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli), Carter Bettles (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast), Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Terengganu Polygon) and his teammate Nur Aiman Zariff, Tiano Da Silva (ProTouch), Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Thailand), Etienne van Empel (China Glory), Nik Zulkifli (Malaysia) and John Salazar (Philippines). However, it didn’t last, with the final members of the group caught on the final of five categorised climbs, where the views of Kuala Lumpur and the prominent Petronas Towers near the finish line opened up at the top of Look Out Point, just as the clouds opened up on the race and pools of water started forming on the finishing straight.

It was all together in the end to deliver a sprint showdown in the heart of Malaysia’s capital, with Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) taking his first professional victory ahead of Erlend Blikra (Uno-X) and Max Kanter (Movistar) third.

Stage 2 - Kuala Klawang to Raub

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The 178.9km undulating inland stage 2 from Kuala Klawang to Raub was another where the break, this time seven riders, went early but it was again swallowed up, with the Ratchanon Yaowarat (Thailand Continental Team) the last survivor caught at 10km to go. 

It was then down to a sprint in Raub, where over the years the race had finished twice before with an Australian rider winning both times. It looked like that streak was about to be broken as it was Colombian rider Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) who came over the line first in a tight sprint, with Australian Craig Wiggins (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) Just behind.

Hours after the stage though, news came through that Molano had been relegated for an irregular sprint and the stage victory was awarded to Wiggins, continuing the run of victories for Australian riders in Raub.

Stage 3 - Putrajaya to Genting Highlands

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This was a stage that was always expected to be pivotal in the overall classification, with the winner of the day on the Genting Highlands most often ending up as the winner of the race overall. 

The 124km stage had two, early category 2 climbs mid-way through followed by the imposing dual challenge of the HC climbs of Gohtong Jaya and the Genting Highlands. A four-strong break formed after the race rolled out from the Putrajaya start line, Eduard Michael Grosu (Drone Hopper), Nur Aiman Zariff (Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team), and the ARA Pro Racing duo of Kane Richards and Carter Bettles but only Bettles remained once the race had worked its way to the final climb, now shrouded with mist after the rain had once more arrived. 

The Australian was caught and then quickly dropped by Ian Sosa (Movistar), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Andrey Zeits (Astana Qazaqstan), but then at 5km to go Zeits also fell away leaving Sosa and Carthy to battle it out for victory. Sosa took off at 1km to go and was clearly the strongest on the day, taking the win and carving out a 23 second gap to his Carthy and more than two minutes to the rest of his rivals. 

Stage 4 - Sabak Bernam to Meru Raya

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After a day of climbing in the Genting Highlands it was time for the sprinters to get another chance with a day free of classified climbs on the 137.9km stage from Sabak Bernam.

The early break of Ricardo Zurita (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli), Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Terengganu Polygon Cycling) and Ryuki Uga (Ukyo) was all over with 12km to go and looked like it would be a big group to contest the sprint on the line in Meru Raya. 

However, a big crash near the front of the field at almost 1km to go split the field, reducing the size of the group heading toward the line. It was a tight win for Jakub Mareczko (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who came across the line just in front of Rudiger Selig (Lotto Soudal) while Eduard-Michael Grosu (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli) took third.

Stage 5 - Kuala Kangsar to Kulim

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Stage 5 wasn't necessarily expected to be a day for the break, but that is exactly what developed with the 172km stage from Kuala Kangsar as the WorldTour teams decided to get in the mix early.

The break of 11 went after the winding, jungle-lined climb of second category had already put on the pressure through the field, meaning only the strong riders at the front could react. With so many top teams involved in the break, there were a limited number to lead the chase behind.

Still it looked to be touch and go for a while as to whether or not the break would survive, but they held off the pursuit and started to battle for supremacy among themselves in the final kilometres. Lionel Taminiaux (Alpecin-Deceuninck) leapt from the breakaway in pursuit of Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) before edging him out at the line in Kulim. Carter Bettles (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) took third, having almost linked onto the leading two on the final run to the line. 

Stage 6 - George Town to Alor Setar

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It was an island start for stage 6, with riders rolling from George Town on Penang, a trading hub for the Strait of Malacca, for the 120.4km stage which worked its way back to Peninsular Malaysia via a 13km long bridge.

The break of six went early but the sprinters' teams were determined not to let it get too far away as the long finishing straight into the Alor Setar line, opposite the Zahir mosque, provided the perfect run-in for the fast men.

By the time there was 9km of the wet stage left, the peloton had swallowed the break and the sprint trains were forming. Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lotto Soudal were prominent in the last two kilometres but Erland Blikra (Uno-X Pro Cycling) found his way to the first row and hit the front at around 150m to go. Syritsa was closing quickly but Blikra held him off to take his first professional victory while Rüdiger Selig (Lotto Soudal) came third.

Stage 7 - Kuah to Kuah

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Before stage 7, riders went to bed on the island of Langkawi expecting a day for the climbers but late at night the news came through that the finishing climb of Gunung Raya was off the menu. Heavy rain and flooding had led to landslides on the island's tallest mountain, so instead riders would take on a slightly modified version of the stage 8 course, 107.1km long with two category 3 climbs.

With the chances running out to take a stage victory or chip away at the general classification, this was always going to be a hard fought day, with or without the Gunung Raya climb. The early attacks came thick and fast but the peloton kept them at bay initially. Eventually Willie Smit (China Glory), Adria Moreno (Burgo-BH) and Nichol Pareja (Philippines) got away. There were a number of other attempts to get away and attempt to bridge, but it was at 30km that the peloton split and a group of 17 riders escaped, including Sjoerd Bax (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Torstein Traeen (Uno-X Pro Cycling), George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates), Gianni Moscon (Astana-Qazaqstan), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Matteo Jorgenson and Max Kanter of Movistar, as well as David van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

At 15km to go, using the first ascent of the category 3 climb to kick on the small local loop, Bax pulled away from a now-split chase and caught the break, which was now just down to Moreno and Smit, as Pareja had been dropped. Bax roared up the left-hand side, overcoming the original break riders of Smit and Moreno to give Alpecin Deceuninck its third stage victory of the tour.

Stage 8 - Kuah, Langkawi loop

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It was the final day of the eight-day Malaysian tour, with riders wrapping up their season and heading off for a break once they passed the finish line in Kuah, but first there was 115.9 crucial kilometres of Le Tour de Langkawi to make it through.

It was on familiar territory, with the course using the same three loops of the island that the riders traversed on Monday, but this time there were three rather than two circuits of the local loop, which included the category 3 climb. All too aware of how unpredictable the course could be, the break came early, starting with Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Hugo Toumire (Cofidis), Jason Osborne (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Anatoliy Budyak (Terengganu Polygon). Then Cameron Scott (ARA Pro Cycling) and Alex Molenaar (Burgos BH) also joined at around 15km into the racing.

The rain came down as the race wound its way around the 59km loop and the break of six split, Toumire, Molenaar and Osborne left their companions behind. The trio stayed clear but on the final category 3 climb Toumire was dropped, leaving it down to a two-way sprint. Molenaar took the victory ahead of Osborne while Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) took the sprint from the group behind, taking third.

Ivan Sosa (Movistar) crossed safely in the main group to hold firm to the overall lead while Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Pro Cycling) took the sprinter's jersey, Nur Aiman Zariff (Terengganu Polygon) the climbers’ classification and  his teammate Jambaljamts Sainbayar won the best Asian rider category.