Nil Gimeno (Equipo Kern Pharma) took his first professional victory on stage 7 of Le Tour de Langkawi to Batu Pahat, as the break of four prevailed despite a charged pursuit by the sprinters teams.
Gimeno, who was a frustrating fourth on stage 4 when the break survived in the Cameron Highlands, wasn't going to let a second opportunity slip him by. This time he got to celebrate rather than commiserate as he crossed the line ahead of Mario Aparicio (Burgos Burpellet-BH) in second and Andrei Stepanov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu) in third. The remaining member of the break, Adne van Engelen (Terengganu) , was the one who this time had to settle for fourth.
The quartet upset the sprinters plans after going out early as part of a group of seven and Gimeno's victory also provided the first Spanish stage winner of the race, which is in its 30th edition..
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The final day of racing on stage 8 is expected to deliver a sprint showdown, although there is a category 3 climb at 50km to go that once again has some potential to create a tempting launch point for those looking for one last roll of the dice at the Malaysian ProTour race.
Lennart Jasch (Tudor Pro Cycling) enters the deciding stage with his grip on the leader's jersey remaining firm as he kept his 26 second gap to Alex Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) in tact.
More to come ...
