Serpa wins at Pandan Indah

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 José Serpa (Androni-Venezuela) took victory on stage 5 of the Tour de Langkawi, while Darren Lapthrone (Drapac) moved into the yellow jersey as overnight leader David Zabriskie (Garmin-Barracuda) floundered on the rolling road to Pandan Impah.

After a select group formed on the final climb, Lapthorne slipped clear with five kilometres to go and was smartly joined by Serpa. The duo collaborated smoothly and built up a 24-second lead on the main peloton by the finish, where Serpa proved too quick for the Australian.

A beleaguered Zabriskie rolled in over 19 minutes later, having cracked on the day’s penultimate climb, the second category Genting Perez. The Garmin-Barracuda challenge will now be led by Tom Danielson, who finished safely in the main group and moves up to second overall, 37 seconds off Lapthorne’s lead.

“I’m surprised as I didn’t think Zabriskie would fall back today,” Lapthorne admitted afterwards. “I thought he had such a good lead, and also my team-mate Adam Phelan – who was coming second overall – pulled out earlier in the stage. When I heard that during the race that my teammate and Zabriskie were off the back, it gave me extra motivation, I thought there was chance that maybe I would become race leader tonight.”

For his part, Serpa was pleased with his show of form ahead of Wednesday’s summit finish at Genting Highlands, where he enjoys a redoubtable record. The Colombian has tackled the mountain three times in his professional career and emerged triumphant on each occasion.

“I hope to be able to do what I did on my first visit to Malaysia in 2006, winning on a flat stage finish and then the day after winning up to Genting,” Serpa said.

How it unfolded

The pace was searing from the moment the flag dropped at Air Keroh, with a flurry of attacks propelling the peloton to cover 47.8 kilometres in the first hour of racing. That early speed took its toll on the injured Adam Phelan. Second overall as the day began, the Australian had to succumb to a knee injury.

At this point, the Garmin-Barracuda team was patrolling the front end of the peloton in defence of Zabriskie’s overall lead, and it was some time before a break gained any significant traction. Alessandro De Marchi (Androni-Venezuela), Yohann Gene (Europcar), Rhy Pollock (Drapac) and James Williamson (New Zealand) eventually sallied clear after 80km and quickly built up a four-minute advantage as they tackled the climb of Bukit Tangga, where Williamson forged ahead alone.

The New Zealander had been brought to heel by the time the bunch reached Genting Perez, where Zabriskie saw his hopes slowly evaporate. The aggressive Matteo Rabottini (Farnese-Selle Italia) forced the pace on the climb, while José Rujano (Androni-Venezuela) also tested his legs.

Rabottini was again to the fore on the final climb, where he was joined in his efforts by Serpa, Lapthorne, Ghader Mizbani (Tabriz Petrochemical), Alexsandr Dyachenko (Astana Pro Team), Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan (Terengganu Cycling Team), Muhamad Othman (Champion System) and Victor Nino Corridor (Azad University) as they pressed clear of the shrinking peloton behind.

Over the top of the climb, it was Lapthorne who went on the offensive and while his clever attack was enough to bring him the overall leadership, Serpa and Androni-Venezuela struck a significant blow ahead of Wednesday’s potentially decisive stage to Genting Highlands.

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