More than one star of the show at Le Tour de Langkawi as Terengganu's Aiman Rosli fires up the hometown fervour

There were two stars of the show at the start of the final stage of Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi on Sunday: one was the retiring winner of four stages of the Tour de France, Milan San Remo and Tour of Flanders, Alexander Kristoff, and the other was Aiman Rosli, the Malaysian champion riding with Terengganu.

Rosli was starting in his home town the day after delighting fans by being one of the two riders who defied the chasing sprinters on stage 7.

He was barely able to walk a metre without being stopped by fans wanting selfies or journalists wanting interviews in Tangkak, Cyclingnews among them.

Rosli was a man in demand, the only Malaysian on the stage podium at this year's edition of Le Tour de Langkawi and the home crowd wanted to revel in it. Rosli didn't seem to mind either, with a wide grin and exuding a relaxed demeanour as he juggled the attention and interviews while also trying to get ready for a tough final stage of racing to Kuala Lumpur.

"I never feel the pressure because I just enjoy riding [my bike] - never, never, because I don't like pressure." he said, pointing to his head to indicate the negative mental impact of being weighed down by it. "So I enjoy my ride only."

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There was no doubt he enjoyed the ride on Saturday. He was the last man standing from the break, charging toward the line and while the expectation was that he would be caught and another bunch sprint would play out the pursuit behind just wasn't making the impact expected.

Zeb Kyffin (Unibet Tietema Rockets) then launched and joined him with around 10km to go and together there was even a point when they were stretching open the gap.

In the final dash to the line it was clear the long day in the break had taken a toll on Rosli, but despite that his grin couldn't have been wider or his celebrations more animated.

The crowd also followed suit, with stage winner Kyffin seeming to be a bit of a second thought for the local crowd and local media, as while there was no doubting the significance of this first professional win for Kyffin, the runner-up held centre stage among the local fans.

This wasn't just any podium spot, this was one that was crucial to Rosli and his Terengganu team. Le Tour de Langkawi is their biggest target of the year which is no surprise, given the state-sponsored team was inspired by the stage win by Anuar Manan in 2010, who then lined up with the newly formed squad at the race in 2011.

The Continental team has largely Malaysian riders, with Rosli the only rider among them from outside of Terengganu, but also some international riders to add to its pool of experience. The squad is based in the start location of stage 4, the state and royal capital of Kuala Terengganu and it last won the overall classification in 2018 with Artem Ovechkin, going into this year's 2.Pro-ranked event with a different but clear goal.

"So that's what we were targeting also during this year event, for us, we need to have at least one guy on the podium for the stage," Terengganu sports director Mohd Saiful Anuar Aziz told Cyclingnews ahead of the final stage and Rosli had just fulfilled that goal.

There was no questioning just what the race, and results in it, mean to the team and riders.

"Langkawi, it's the biggest race on my schedule," said Rosli.

"So I need to become a superstar and I need [to think] like a winner, that I can do something, because there are a lot of fans in Malaysia, saying Aiman, Aiman, Aiman so I need do something more, they motivate me."

There was certainly no way you could accuse Rosli of not doing enough, The rider was relentless in his pursuit of breakaways through the stages and while part of it may have been about chasing an opportunity to claim a top result, there were also other reasons.

"Every day I go in the break," said Rosli. "I'm scared to stay in the peloton because, like, it's dangerous for me. So I need to break away," he said, adding that then there was no concern over taking bottles in the feed zone or working through the group to get back to the team car.

It probably should be no surprise if some of the riders in the region that are stepping up into higher-levels fields may not feel as at ease in a large peloton as those who have grown up racing in a cycling hub like Europe.

The opportunities to race and size and quality of the field are different, though when the WorldTour teams and ProTeams come to town that changes for eight days.

The Tour de Langkawi represents eight days more experience for the home teams, with Malaysia Pro Cycling and the national team also lining up alongside Terengganu. It's also eight days of inspiration for the potential next generation of cyclists from Malaysia, which could come from among those school children standing and enthusiastically cheering on the side of the road, and it's also eight days that can help make the world of mainstream cycling feel just that little bit less impossibly remote.