Giger and Davison win Langkawi stage 2

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His GC chances in tatters following a flat tyre in stage 1, Fabian Giger (Giant Pro XC) bounced back to claim stage 2 in the men's category while Lea Davison (Specialized Racing) weaved her way back into contention for the women's title as the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge (LIMBC) pack raised the tempo going into the toughest stage Thursday.

Giger, who could only managed a 46th placing after being floored by a flat tyre in stage 1, put in an impressive effort to win in a time of 1:55:49. The Swiss rider, who was the men's overall champion last year, was followed across the finish line by his teammate Emil Lindgren of Sweden in 1:58:14.

The second place finish was enough for Lindgren to take over the yellow jersey from France's Maxime Marotte (BH-SR Suntour-KMC), who finished fourth in stage 2.

"I am happy to bounce back from my stage 1 disappointment and win comfortably today," said Giger. "After being in the leading group, I attacked the climb on my own and held on to the lead until the end. Emil's second placing makes it a perfect day for my Giant Pro XC Team."

"I was disappointed on Tuesday as I was among the leaders when I had a flat tyre with 15km to go. I was unable to fix it immediately because the puncture was too big, and I lost more than 30 minutes," said Giger.

Lindgren was ecstatic to grab the yellow jersey, and vowed to hold on to it for as long as possible.

"I am surprised with myself over my good performance in this tough race, especially during the climb," said Lindgren. "I tried to keep pace with Fabian and succeeded in tailing him until the finish line."

"Stage 3 is another tough marathon course, but I hope to put on another beautiful show to hold on to the yellow jersey," said Lindgren.

In the women's race, LIMBC 2012 defending champion Davison of the United States won a final sprint against Poland's Maja Wloszczowska (Giant Pro XC) to take stage 2.

Davison, who said that she was "extremely disappointed" with her fourth placing in stage 1, won in 2:19:28, with Wloszczowska clocking 2:19:28 to take second spot.

Stage 1 winner Adelheid Morath of Germany was a distant third with a 2:23:46 finish.

"I am happy to make up for my stage 1 disappointment today. With this win, I am now in a good position to retain my overall title," said Davison.

"I made my move with Wloszczowska early in the race, and we managed to lead the whole time. She was faster than me during the downhill section, but I managed to overtake her towards the end," said Davison, who wrested the overall leader's pink jersey from Colnago Sudtirol's Eva Lechner of Italy.

Other categories

In the men's senior masters, Dane Mads Bodker was also denied a third win in a row after losing to New Zealand's Derek David Milne. Bodker, who rides for Davinci Specialized Team, is still the overall leader in the category.

Thursday's stage 3 will start and finish at the Oriental Village in Langkawi.

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