Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) swept up a second Le Tour de Langkawi sprint on stage 3 in Kuala Kangsar, once again crossing the line just ahead of Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure).
It was a close photo finish once again, but maybe not quite as close as on stage 1, with the Italian who last year won three stages of the race now having taken every available opportunity to work toward topping that total in 2026. After Pickrell came through the line it was then a a more discernible gap to third-placed Seppe Van Den Boer, with the 20-year-old Tudor Pro Cycling development rider another on the team that has eagerly grasped the opportunity presented to test his limits at the Malaysian ProTour race.
It was a late charge for Malucelli this time, who was a little further back than expected when the peloton rounded the last left-hand corner at just under 800m to go, but his teammates managed to move him up in time for him to launch toward another victory.
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"We took the last corner maybe two back, but Aaron [Gate] and Gleb [Syritsa} did a really good job, and I passed Pickrell just in the finish meter," said Malucelli in an interview immediately after the line put out on the race livestream.
Lennart Jasch (Tudor Pro Cycling), who passed his first GC test with flying colours on stage 2's ascent of Gunung Jerai, retained his grasp on the overall lead, though he will have to work to keep it through the next two climbing days with the Caja Rural-Serguros RGA duo of Abel Balderstone and Jan Castellon still just 20 and 38 seconds behind.
More to come ...
