Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling) doubled up with a second stage win in two days at the Tour de Langkawi, beating Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team Ukyo) and Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) on stage 5 in Melaka.
The overall lead remains in the hands of Max Poole (Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL) for a third straight day, with the Briton taking part in an early attack.
After some 20 riders, including last year's winner Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost) finished outside the stage 4 time limit, the hilly early half of stage 5 took the riders through the Genting Highlands for the last time in this year's race.
After the race was neutralised briefly because of a spell of very heavy rain, the four riders were slowly reeled in one by one on the much flatter second half of the stage - De Bod being the last - and a bunch sprint became all but inevitable.
Polti-Kometa and then Tudor Pro Cycling worked hard on a fast downhill segment as the bunch fragmented, only for stage 1 winner Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) to open up the sprint early on the right-hand side.
Stage 2 winner and points leader Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team Ukyo) was on De Kleijn's wheel in the centre and closing fast, but the Dutchman kept his pace high to keep the Italian at bay by just under half a wheel.
"It was a hard stage, specially the beginning," De Kleijn said. "On the second climb I was dropped with all the other sprinters, but we started riding and got back on."
"There was a lot of chasing in the bunch but we had Simon in the break and that meant we didn't have to do that, which was good."
"Then the guys put me in the perfect position and I did a really good sprint."
Yet another sprinters' stage - the fifth in the 2024 race out of six so far - beckons on Friday, in the shape of a flat 123.6 kilometre run from Batu Pahat to Kulai.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
-
Sean Kelly's Classics column: Just like Pogačar, Paul Seixas has the whole package, but he shouldn't ride the Tour this summer
The two-time Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner shares his thoughts on Tadej Pogačar's stunning fourth La Doyenne title, Demi Vollering's untouchable climbing credentials, and where next for France's super talent -
'That is impossible. Not you' - 21-year-old nephew of Sep Vanmarcke dies after being struck by a driver while training
21-year-old Milan Bral had planned to race Gent-Wevelgem under-23 race in May -
How to watch 2026 Tour de Romandie – Free streams, TV channels for the Swiss WorldTour stage race
Tadej Pogačar, Primoz Roglič, Florian Lipowitz, and Oscar Onley do battle over six challenging days in Switzerland -
Tadej Pogačar fined 5000 CHF for jersey design worn on Liège-Bastogne-Liège podium, later overturned by race jury
Officials remove hefty fine initially handed down for personal sponsor, reason given for penalty was 'wrong place of the publicity on the world champion jersey during the award ceremony'
