Le Tour de Langkawi: Matteo Malucelli takes stage 2 sprint win as second-place Penalver celebrates too soon
Italian JCL Team Ukyo rider comes out on top in photo-finish ahead of Manuel Peñalver and Kleijn
Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team Ukyo) took one his biggest career wins at the Tour of Le Tour de Langkawi on Monday in a uniquely humble manner, as he sprinted below the raised arms of Manuel Peñalver of Polti-Kometa - who thought he had clinched victory.
"I am very happy with my first victory in a 2 Pro race," Malucelli said after the race finish. "This will certainly motivate me to continue pursuing wins in this professional tour. This victory is important not just for me but also for our team. We have been working hard for several weeks to prepare for this LTdL."
Peñalver was in good spirits with his second-place finish, despite his misplaced stage-win celebrations. "The truth is that I thought I had won when I crossed the finish line," he said. "Sometimes you can be wrong and in this case, the photo finish gave me second place. Congratulations to him."
Gleb Syritsa remains in the lead by a slender margin of 2 seconds after winning stage 1.
The Queen stage comes on Tuesday with the 170km stage 3 between the Taiping and Cameron Highland.
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Peter Stuart was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022 until 2025. Before joining Cyclingnews, Peter was the digital editor of Rouleur magazine. Starting life as a freelance feature writer, with bylines in The Times and The Telegraph, he first entered cycling journalism in 2012, joining Cyclist magazine as staff writer. Peter has a background as an international rower, representing Great Britain at the under-23 level and at the Junior Rowing World Championships.
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