There was a point in the final mountain stage of Le Tour de Langkawi on Thursday where Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet-BH) looked to be threatening not just to take a stage victory but also even potentially upset the overall.
It was a strong performance for the rider from New Zealand in any circumstances – but even more so given a week ago he wasn't even sure he would be able to take to the start line.
"Two days before the race, a car pulled out on us, and I had to have overnight surgery to repair my elbow. So yeah, for me, being on the start line was a bit of a bonus, so then to do what I did yesterday…" Burnett told Cyclingnews on Friday at the start of stage 6 in Pandan Indah.
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"To move up into seventh overall and take second on such a cool stage is amazing, and everyone saw the crowds up there. It was pretty epic to be at the front of that."
Burnett explained that the midnight surgery for a "severe cleaning" of the big wound of his arm had taken a toll in the earlier stages but stage 5 was one, which finished with a long hors catégorie climb in the Genting Highlands, that he had earmarked as a good opportunity even before he arrived in Malaysia.
The plan, however, hadn't initially been to go in the break but it took some time to establish and strong riders were persistent in continuing the effort so Burnett and his Burgos Burpellet-BH teammate Rodrigo Alvarez joined the fray. Along with some others a strong duo of TotalEnergies riders also joined the fray, Nicolas Breuillard and Valentin Retailleau. This helped give the break plenty of horsepower.
"Initially, I was a bit hesitant when I was in there, but when the gap started going out, I started to believe slowly and slowly a bit more," said Burnett.
Five minutes advantage at the bottom of the climb, also meant Burnett was the virtual leader of the race on the road as he was the best-placed rider out the front, in 17th at 3:20 from race leader Lennart Jasch (Tudor Pro Cycling).
The pressure of the climb cut the break down to just Breuillard and Burnett, with the rider from New Zealand working hard to keep driving the pace, thinking about not just the stage but also the overall. However, at 2.6km to go the French rider accelerated and at that point, Burnett just couldn't respond.
"Honestly, I felt really good and maybe a bit stronger but I had to ride for the GC, so I did most of the work, and then I just kind of cramped when he went. I knew if I tried to follow it would have been both legs that would have stopped working," said Burnett. "The cramps kind of went away, and I maybe closed it a few seconds, but obviously I never really got that close but I tried and TotalEnergies worked just as hard as us so they deserved it as well."
In the end Burnett was second with an eight second gap to Breuillard and with Jasch having delivered yet another strong showing on the climb he well and truly kept his race lead safe and took third on the stage just 13 seconds back from Burnett.
And while the Burgos Burpellet BH rider was not, in the end, a threat to Jasch, he did deliver a reshuffling further back in the top 10, moving up ten spots to seventh overall.
"Obviously, when you're here, you want a bit more, but when you look at it objectively, I think it's pretty good for sure," said Burnett, who then went on to prove just how big the lure of more is as he attempted to make the break once again on stage 6.
*Cyclingnews attended Le Tour de Langkawi on an invitation/media package from the race that included travel and accommodation. In line with our editorial standards, our coverage is independent and was not subject to review, approval or influence by the organiser or any sponsor; no favourable coverage was promised or given in return.
