Tour de Langkawi: McCabe wins stage 3 in Putrajaya
American moves into race lead ahead of Genting Highlands
Travis McCabe (Floyd’s Pro Cycling) claimed the double prize of victory and the yellow jersey on stage 3 of the Tour de Langkawi. The Floyd’s team anticipated the final corner onto the finishing straight to force a split in the peloton, the "beautiful lead out” ensuring a commanding victory for McCabe two seconds ahead of Matteo Pelucchi (Androni) and Andrea Guardini (Bardiani-CSF).
The win and bonus seconds also secured the yellow jersey for McCabe, with overnight leader Marcus Culey (Sapura) caught out by the sprint move and dropping to second at four seconds.
“We gapped the field, we saw we had a gap and I just told the boys to go,” McCabe told Cyclingnews of the finale. “One and half K, it was one minute long so it was go with everything we had. We just got the gap and kept opening it.”
The 29-year-old also won the stage into Putrajaya when the Tour de Langkawi visited in 2017 and is now two from two in Malaysia's federal administrative centre. With the full team effort in securing the win, McCabe said the victory instantly felt one of his best of nine professional victories.
“Oh yeah, it was awesome. It was so close two days ago, but to finally get it today with the team effort, just the Floyd’s boys killing it, is the best way to win,” said McCabe, who was second on stage 1. “It’s the best way to win a sprint and to drop the entire field while doing it.”
Despite taking yellow, a first in his career, McCabe explained team tactics for tomorrow's queen stage, with Floyd’s aiming to set up Keegan Swirbul for victory, is unlikely to change.
“We will take more responsibility. We are a small team and we have some firepower and we are coming in for the GC as well,” he said. “There is more responsibility on guys like me, Jonny [Clarke] and Émile [Jean] to ride the front until the climb and just let Keegan do his thing.”
Stage 4 of the race will start in Shah Alam, passing the Batu Caves en route to the summit finish at Genting Highlands, absent from the race since 2014, after 114.2 km of racing.
How it unfolded
The southernmost stage start of the Tour de Langkawi in 2019 saw the peloton assemble at Muar’s Stadium Sultan Ibrahim in sweltering conditions. Once the flag was dropped, the trio of Hang Shi (Giant Cycling), Sofian Nabil (Malaysia) and Soon Young Kwon (KSPO) immediately jumped and were given clearance by the Sapura-led peloton.
The three leaders pulled out a five-minute lead by the 20km mark, gradually taking more time on the bunch content to let them ride. The gap quickly ballooning out to 10 minutes.
On the road, Nabil moved into the virtual lead of the race having started the day 18 seconds down on the yellow jersey of Culey. By the halfway point of the stage, the breakaway’s lead dipped under nine minutes and then continued to fall as the peloton continued north to Putrajaya and the sprint teams started to work.
Inside the final third of the stage, the gap between peloton and breakaway further diminished with the sprint teams eager to set up a bunch gallop finale. With 40 km to race, Nabil was the first casualty of the breakaway leaving Kwon and Shi as the leaders on the road.
Bardiani-CSF took up the reins in the bunch, holding the two leaders at one minute with 20 km to race. The catch of the break coming inside 10 km to race as the sprint teams amassed at the head of the bunch. In the sprint to the line, McCabe made amends for stage 1 as he surged to his third career stage win in Langkawi.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Travis Mccabe (USA) Floyd's Pro Cycling | 4:49:39 |
2 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | 0:00:02 |
3 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
4 | Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
5 | Kazushige Kuboki (Jpn) Japan | |
6 | Zhiwen Chen (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
7 | Maris Bogdanovics (Lat) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
8 | Andrii Kulyk (Ukr) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | |
9 | Blake Quick (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
10 | Michael Freiberg (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
11 | Clint Hendricks (RSA) Protouch | |
12 | Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
13 | Nikolai Cherkasov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
14 | Jayde Julius (RSA) Protouch | |
15 | Kyoungho Park (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | |
16 | Umberto Marengo (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
17 | Mamyr Stash (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
18 | Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Vino-Astana Motors | |
19 | Charalampos Kastrantas (Gre) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | |
20 | Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Vino-Astana Motors | |
21 | Rizki Hidayatul Fadli (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
22 | Calvin Beneke (RSA) Protouch | |
23 | Shoi Matsuda (Jpn) Japan | |
24 | Roberto González (Pan) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
25 | Michael Vink (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
26 | Robbie Hucker (Aus) Team Ukyo | |
27 | Daniel Muñoz Giraldo (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
28 | Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Vino-Astana Motors | |
29 | Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | 0:00:06 |
30 | Emile Jean (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
31 | Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
32 | Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Japan | |
33 | Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
34 | Hernan Ricardo Aguirre Caipa (Col) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
35 | Stepan Astafyev (Kaz) Vino-Astana Motors | |
36 | James Oram (NZl) Mitchelton-Bikeexchange | |
37 | Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
38 | Sofian Nabil Omar Mohd Bakri (Mas) Malaysia | |
39 | Jihun Kim (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | |
40 | Muhammad Nurfitri Ammar Rosli (Mas) Malaysia | |
41 | Josip Rumac (Cro) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
42 | Freddy Ovett (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
43 | Benjamin Dyball (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | |
44 | Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
45 | Jaehyun Kim (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | |
46 | Keegan Swirbul (USA) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
47 | Cristian Raileanu (Mda) Team Sapura Cycling | |
48 | Benjami Prades Reverter (Spa) Team Ukyo | |
49 | Penghai Deng (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
50 | Charles-Etienne Chretien (Can) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
51 | Grigoriy Shtein (Kaz) Vino-Astana Motors | |
52 | Brayan Chaves Rubio (Col) Mitchelton-Bikeexchange | |
53 | Sam Crome (Aus) Team Ukyo | |
54 | Takeaki Amezawa (Jpn) Japan | |
55 | Jesse Ewart (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | |
56 | Brendon Davids (RSA) Oliver's Real Food Racing | |
57 | Metkel Eyob (Eri) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
58 | Muhammad Shahmir Aiman Abdul Halim (Mas) Malaysia | |
59 | Jinsong Li (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
60 | Marcus Culey (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | |
61 | Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (Mas) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
62 | Artem Ovechkin (Rus) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
63 | Simon Jones (USA) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
64 | Vladislav Kulikov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
65 | Luca Raggio (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
66 | Muhammad Zawawi Azman (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
67 | Massimo Rosa (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
68 | Craig Wiggins (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
69 | Qaris Maxu Irwandi Setra (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
70 | Mohammadesmaeil Chaichiraghimi (IRI) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
71 | Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
72 | Michael Potter (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
73 | Kent Main (RSA) Protouch | |
74 | Mohd Zamri Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
75 | Jesse Featonby (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | |
76 | Muhammad Fachri Barokah (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
77 | Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
78 | Zamirul Adlisham Zulkefli (Mas) Malaysia | |
79 | Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
80 | Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
81 | Nik Mohd Azwan Zulkiflie (Mas) Malaysia | |
82 | Mathew Zenovich (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
83 | Azli Najmi Zulkefli (Mas) Malaysia | |
84 | Timothy Cameron (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
85 | Anton Vorobyev (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
86 | Bingcheng Gu (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
87 | Simone Bevilacqua (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
88 | Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | 0:00:18 |
89 | Aleksei Kurbatov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | 0:00:22 |
90 | Alexander Evtushenko (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo | |
91 | Jiankun Liu (Chn) Mitchelton-Bikeexchange | |
92 | Zhaoliang Xu (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | 0:00:27 |
93 | Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
94 | Mykhaylo Kononenko (Ukr) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | |
95 | Daniil Pronskiy (Kaz) Vino-Astana Motors | |
96 | Muhamad Fakhruazam Mohd Hanifiah (Mas) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | |
97 | Sebastian Presley (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | |
98 | James Fourie (RSA) Protouch | |
99 | Connor Reardon (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
100 | Benjamin Andrews (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | |
101 | Dadi Suryadi (Ina) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | |
102 | Hang Shi (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
103 | Donguk Kim (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | |
104 | Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) Japan | 0:00:38 |
105 | Jonathan Clarke (Aus) Floyd's Pro Cycling | 0:00:41 |
106 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Interpro Cycling Academy | 0:00:49 |
107 | Martin Ford (GBr) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | 0:00:51 |
108 | Mehdi Tigrine (Bel) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | 0:00:55 |
109 | Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Team Ukyo | 0:01:02 |
110 | Rohan Du Plooy (RSA) Protouch | 0:01:17 |
111 | Hao Liu (Chn) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | 0:01:26 |
112 | Ilya Davidenok (Kaz) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | |
113 | Jonathon Noble (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:01:41 |
114 | Yosandy Darmawan Oetomo (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | 0:00:06 |
115 | Amarni Drake (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:02:12 |
116 | Soonyeong Kwon (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | 0:02:34 |
117 | Yikui Niu (Chn) Mitchelton-Bikeexchange | 0:04:14 |
118 | Angus Lyons (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:05:05 |
119 | Michael Bresciani (Ita) Bardiani Csf | 0:05:08 |
120 | Conor Murtagh (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:05:57 |
121 | Alessandro Pessot (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
DNF | Moreno Marchetti (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Travis McCabe (USA) Floyd's Pro Cycling | 14:03:28 |
2 | Marcus Culey (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | 0:00:04 |
3 | Michael Freiberg (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:00:13 |
4 | Sofian Nabil Omar Mohd Bakri (Mas) Malaysia | |
5 | Brendon Davids (RSA) Oliver's Real Food Racing | |
6 | Clint Hendricks (RSA) Protouch | 0:00:14 |
7 | Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani Csf | 0:00:18 |
8 | Jayde Julius (RSA) Protouch | |
9 | Nikolai Cherkasov (Rus) Gazprom - Rusvelo | |
10 | Robbie Hucker (Aus) Team Ukyo | |
11 | Michael Vink (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
12 | Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Vino - Astana Motors | |
13 | Shoi Matsuda (Jpn) Japan | |
14 | Jihun Kim (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | 0:00:20 |
15 | Alistair Donohoe (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:00:22 |
16 | James Oram (NZl) Mitchelton - Bikeexchange | |
17 | Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
18 | Stepan Astafyev (Kaz) Vino - Astana Motors | |
19 | Grigoriy Shtein (Kaz) Vino - Astana Motors | |
20 | Hernan Ricardo Aguirre Caipa (Col) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
21 | Benjami Prades Reverter (Spa) Team Ukyo | |
22 | Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
23 | Metkel Eyob (Eri) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
24 | Benjamin Dyball (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | |
25 | Freddy Ovett (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | |
26 | Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Japan | |
27 | Vladislav Kulikov (Rus) Gazprom - Rusvelo | |
28 | Jesse Ewart (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | |
29 | Charles-Etienne Chretien (Can) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
30 | Jinsong Li (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
31 | Sam Crome (Aus) Team Ukyo | |
32 | Takeaki Amezawa (Jpn) Japan | |
33 | Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
34 | Artem Ovechkin (Rus) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
35 | Mathew Zenovich (NZl) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
36 | Muhamad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
37 | Keegan Swirbul (USA) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
38 | Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
39 | Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
40 | Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling | |
41 | Kent Main (RSA) Protouch | |
42 | Muhammad Zawawi Azman (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | 0:00:36 |
43 | Mohammadesmaeil Chaichiraghimi (IRI) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
44 | Nik Mohd Azwan Zulkiflie (Mas) Malaysia | |
45 | Timothy Cameron (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
46 | Alexander Evtushenko (Rus) Gazprom - Rusvelo | 0:00:38 |
47 | Connor Reardon (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | 0:00:57 |
48 | Cristian Raileanu (Mda) Team Sapura Cycling | 0:01:07 |
49 | Luca Raggio (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | 0:01:10 |
50 | Azli Najmi Zulkefli (Mas) Malaysia | 0:01:11 |
51 | Michael Potter (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:02:12 |
52 | Jonathon Noble (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:03:14 |
53 | Soonyeong Kwon (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | 0:09:16 |
54 | Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:09:42 |
55 | Jesse Featonby (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:14:51 |
56 | Alessandro Pessot (Ita) Bardiani Csf | 0:14:56 |
57 | Mamyr Stash (Rus) Gazprom - Rusvelo | 0:16:42 |
58 | Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Vino - Astana Motors | |
59 | Umberto Marengo (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
60 | Roberto González (Pan) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
61 | Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | 0:16:46 |
62 | Penghai Deng (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
63 | Simone Bevilacqua (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | |
64 | Massimo Rosa (Ita) Neri Sottoli Selle Italia Ktm | 0:17:00 |
65 | Bingcheng Gu (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
66 | Hang Shi (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | 0:17:16 |
67 | Sebastian Presley (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:17:21 |
68 | Mohd Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | 0:18:10 |
69 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Bardiani Csf | |
70 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:18:14 |
71 | Kazushige Kuboki (Jpn) Japan | 0:18:16 |
72 | Maris Bogdanovics (Lat) Interpro Cycling Academy | 0:18:20 |
73 | Blake Quick (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
74 | Zhiwen Chen (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | |
75 | Calvin Beneke (RSA) Protouch | |
76 | Andrii Kulyk (Ukr) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | |
77 | Charalampos Kastrantas (Gre) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | |
78 | Daniel Muñoz Giraldo (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
79 | Kyoungho Park (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | |
80 | Ilya Davidenok (Kaz) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | |
81 | Emile Jean (Can) Floyd's Pro Cycling | 0:18:24 |
82 | Muhammad Nurfitri Ammar Rosli (Mas) Malaysia | |
83 | Jaehyun Kim (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | |
84 | Brayan Chaves Rubio (Col) Mitchelton - Bikeexchange | |
85 | Simon Jones (USA) Interpro Cycling Academy | |
86 | Josip Rumac (Cro) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
87 | Craig Wiggins (Aus) St George Continental Cycling Team | |
88 | Muhammad Shahmir Aiman Abdul Halim (Mas) Malaysia | |
89 | Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (Mas) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
90 | Zamirul Adlisham Zulkefli (Mas) Malaysia | |
91 | Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:18:36 |
92 | Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Vino - Astana Motors | 0:18:37 |
93 | Zhaoliang Xu (Chn) Giant Cycling Team | 0:18:45 |
94 | Aleksei Kurbatov (Rus) Gazprom - Rusvelo | 0:18:54 |
95 | Mohd Zamri Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Inc. Tsg Cycling Team | |
96 | Jiankun Liu (Chn) Mitchelton - Bikeexchange | |
97 | Mykhaylo Kononenko (Ukr) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | 0:18:59 |
98 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Interpro Cycling Academy | 0:19:07 |
99 | Angus Lyons (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:19:47 |
100 | Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Team Ukyo | 0:19:51 |
101 | Anton Vorobyev (Rus) Gazprom - Rusvelo | 0:19:58 |
102 | Jonathan Clarke (Aus) Floyd's Pro Cycling | 0:20:11 |
103 | Dadi Suryadi (Ina) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | 0:20:17 |
104 | Mehdi Tigrine (Bel) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | 0:20:19 |
105 | Benjamin Andrews (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:20:34 |
106 | Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) Japan | 0:21:17 |
107 | Rohan Du Plooy (RSA) Protouch | 0:21:51 |
108 | Amarni Drake (Aus) Pro Racing Sunshine Coast | 0:22:20 |
109 | Donguk Kim (Kor) Kspo Bianchi Asia Pro Cycling | 0:22:23 |
110 | Michael Bresciani (Ita) Bardiani Csf | 0:23:49 |
111 | Conor Murtagh (Aus) Oliver's Real Food Racing | 0:24:39 |
112 | Yikui Niu (Chn) Mitchelton - Bikeexchange | 0:26:58 |
113 | Rizki Hidayatul Fadli (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | 0:27:02 |
114 | Qaris Maxu Irwandi Setra (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | 0:27:06 |
115 | Yosandy Darmawan Oetomo (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
116 | Muhammad Fachri Barokah (Ina) Customs Cycling Indonesia | |
117 | Daniil Pronskiy (Kaz) Vino - Astana Motors | 0:27:51 |
118 | Muhamad Fakhruazam Mohd Hanifiah (Mas) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | 0:28:47 |
119 | Martin Ford (GBr) Brunei Continental Cycling Team | 0:29:00 |
120 | James Fourie (RSA) Protouch | 0:29:01 |
121 | Hao Liu (Chn) Shenzhen Xidesheng Cycling Team | 0:36:58 |

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