Vogel and Lechner take opening prologue wins in Langkawi

Image 1 of 5

Men

It was a sweet opening stage victory for Florian Vogel in the prologue individual time trial at the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge (LIMBC) on Monday. The Scott Swisspower rider was beaming with joy after learning that he clocked the fastest time of 5:08.29 on the 2.4km track at Dataran Legenda.

"I will hang on to this stage lead for as long as I can," said Vogel. "I won't give it up easily since this is my first stage victory of any competition in my career." He could not hide his delight at wearing the yellow jersey, despite the humid conditions and hot afternoon in Langkawi.

"I will try to protect my lead for tomorrow's stage 1 challenge. The humidity and weather won't be easy for anyone," he said.

Vogel finished 3.9 seconds ahead of Simon Gegenheimer (Ultra Sports Racing) and 6.1 seconds ahead of Emil Lindgren (Rabobank-Giant Off-Road).

Women

Among the women, Eva Lechner (Team Colnago Sudtirol) who clocked the fastest time: 5:51.27. Her result surprised her.

"I thought I was the third fastest after I learned that my teammate Nathalie (Schneitter) clocked better time than me. But later, when the official result came out, I am so happy," said the Italian woman who is considered among the favourites to challenge for the women's title.

Lechner thinks the course conditions and humidity will help her bid for overall victory.

"I think I am doing well and I feel good. I just need to maintain my pace and work out a good strategy. I have respect for my teammate Nathalie and other competitors," said Lechner.

Lechner finished 4.3 seconds ahead of Lea Davison (Specialized) and 7.6 seconds ahead of Schneitter.

Malaysians

Malaysia's best result of the day came from Masziyaton Mohd Radzi in 10th place with a time of 7:04.33 in the women's category. Anuar Manan managed a 5:54.24, clinching 17th place out of 74 competitors in men's category.

Tomorrow's LIMBC stage 1 will have riders compete on a grueling 65km track around the island, starting and finishing at Lagenda Park.

Full Results for prologue and general classification after day 1