Russian beats Blikra and Kanter to the win in Kuala Lumpur
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Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) celebrates his sprint victory on stage 1 of the Tour de Langkawi(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) sprints to victory on stage 1 of the Tour de Langkawi(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) celebrates his sprint victory and takes the overall race lead on stage 1 of the Tour de Langkawi(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) celebrates his sprint victory on stage 1 of the Tour de Langkawi(Image credit: Getty Images)
The podium on stage 1 at Tour de Langkawi(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) won the opening stage of the Tour de Langkawi, taking victory in Kuala Lumpur, on a rain soaked straight in front of the iconic Petronas Towers.
Erlend Blikra (Uno-X) came second while it was a third place for Max Kanter (Movistar) as the bunch sprinted through the puddles, which formed after a deluge that sent waiting crowds scurrying for cover had swept through just before the riders came to the finish line. It returned in time for a sodden podium presentation as the heavy tropical rain turned the puddles into pools.
There was nothing, however that could dampen a first professional victory for 22-year-old Syritsa, who repaid the work his team had put in to pull the initial break of 9 back during the stage which was punctuated by five categorised climbs.
"I am very happy. I can not believe it," Syritsa told reporters after the stage.
Syritsa had only joined Astana Qazaqstan as a trainee in August, quickly delivering with a second in stage 2 of the Arctic race of Norway and on the opening stage of the Tour de Slovakia, and then shifting up a step in only his fifth race, and little more than two months, with the team .
How it unfolded
The return of the 2.Pro ranked Tour de Langkawi, which was cancelled in 2021, got underway to the south of Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Pilah. It was typically warm and humid, with the sweat already dripping for sign on beside the start, which was lined with cheering school children in a town nestled within the heavily forested hills.
As the riders set off on the 157.3km stage past a golden topped mosque, they were quick to form a break of nine. None of the six WorldTour teams in the race were represented in its ranks, instead leaving the early move for others. It comprised of Trym Holther (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli), Carter Bettles (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast), Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Terengganu Polygon) and his teammate Nur Aiman Zariff, Tiano Da Silva (ProTouch), Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Thailand), Etienne van Empel (China Glory), along with Nik Zulkifli (Malaysia) and John Salazar (Philippines).
The group quickly stretched out a lead as they headed toward an opening challenge with the first sprint points of the day at 12.3km almost immediately followed by a category 3 climb at 16.1km. The next test was the category 2, Bukit Miku, cresting at 43.2km. By then the gap to the peloton had extended to 9:30, with Muhammad Abdurrahman (Mula) sitting between at 3:50 back from the lead group.
The second and third sprint points through one of the flatter, although still undulating, sections of the race lead to the Mantin category 3 climb at 85.2km Some riders were starting to be shaken loose from the break. Holther, Da Silva and Salazar were among those initially absorbed back into the peloton.
As the riders approached the last 30km of racing, in a stage which was being showered with sporadic bursts of rain, they were facing up to two category 2 climbs in quick succession, Tekali at 131km, which had monkeys sitting on the roadside just before the race came through almost appearing to be looking to see what the spectacle was all about. Then there was Look Out Point peaking at 143.6km and making clear the forest was about to give way to the city as the views of Kuala Lumpur opened up just over the top.
The break reeling in process had been continuing on the run into those two climbs, with Astana Qazaqstan taking charge and then other teams like EF-Education EasyPost and Movistar joining in. Some of the front group managed to hold out on the first climb with Sainbayar taking top points, followed by Chawchiangkwang and Bettles but the group was all back together for the second climb and, despite some pushing of the pace on Look Out Point, it was all together for the run in to the finish line.
There Syritsa was awarded the stage and yellow jersey of the race winner, as well as the sprinters jersey, while it was Sainbayar who took out the climbers classification after his persistence in the break and also the best Asian rider white jersey.
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
