There was no denying how much this first professional victory meant to Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Pro Cycling). The Norwegian had been chasing it since the very first stage of the Tour de Langkawi with a sense of urgency, given he is facing a looming career crossroads.
The 25-year-old’s season is almost done but there is no certainty over the next one as weeks ago he found out that his contract with the team where he turned professional in 2020 would not be renewed, making results in the eight-day Malaysian tour somewhat of a necessity,
“We’ve just been patient,” Blikra – who could be forgiven for feeling like time was too short for patience – told Cyclingnews in Alor Setar. “We’ve tried every day and the boys have been backing me every day and we have just been dreaming of this day.”
On Sunday Blikra flipped the order of the top two steps of the podium on stage 1. Then he came second to Gleb Syritsa (Astana-Qazaqstan) and while taking to the podium in front of Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers was a career best result, it wasn’t enough.
“It just showed that it was really possible to win here and that I have the level that is needed to win in this race,” Blikra said.
This time, try as he might Syritsa couldn’t catch Blikra, who had gone well out from the line, hitting the front at around 150m to go and staying there.
“When the opening came I just went for it early and I know that I am fast in these types of finishes so nobody could pass,” Blikra said.
The victory in the 120.4km stage from George Town on the island of Penang to Alor Setar means, at the least, he’ll be walking away from the 2.Pro ranked Tour de Langkawi with a stage victory and a second place, as well as a fourth and fifth, plus the last stage is expected to deliver one more sprint opportunity. Currently, too, he is wearing the green sprinters jersey, with his victory putting him just one point ahead of Syritsa.
Blikra had struggled through the first part of the season with illness, COVID-19 included, but in recent months they have been building, hitting a peak at Langkawi, but the question that remains is whether or not, in a tight market where many teams are already full, whether he will get to keep building on them again next season?’
“It’s really been the second part of the season where I felt like myself. But I didn’t get my contract extended with my team so I really still don’t have a team for next year,” said Blikra
“I was told not so many weeks ago. So it has been quite a couple of rough weeks for me, emotional, so to win here today was just such a relief. I hope this opens up some opportunities.”
