A winning start for Matteo Malucelli on stage 1 of Le Tour de Langkawi

Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) once again got to throw his hands into the air in victory at the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi, with the three-time 2024 winner clearly demonstrating he is once again the sprinter to watch after taking victory on stage 1.

Malucelli came across the line ahead of Eriend Blikra (Uno- Mobility) and Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling) was third. It was the perfect beginning for Malucelli, who was last year riding for JCL Team Ukyo but now also has the benefit of a WorldTour team behind him and, while last year he rode into Kuah in fourth, this time there was no stopping him.

"Every year is different, so I was hoping this year would be different," Malucelli told reporters, including Cyclingnews after the stage, recounting how the opening effort was a missed opportunity in 2024. "Now we start with the right mode, the best mode, and for sure, we will try to continue in this direction.

"We know that now we have a lot of responsibility as a team day by day, so it was important to win. We win the first stage, and now everybody is more relaxed."

It was an early kick off for Sunday’s stage 1 which started and finished in Kuah, taking in a 96.7km loop of the island that the race was named after. The peloton headed out of the urban surrounds of Kuah to sweep by scenic beaches and the rich forests of Langkawi, home to the UNESCO listed geopark, before wrapping it all up with some punchy climbs through the final 20km that including a short but sharp category 4 ascent at just over 13km to go.

There was no thwarting the sprinters teams however, and despite an early break it was clear that as the race headed to the finish line not long after 10am local time it would be a bunch battle that played out before the peloton of 129 riders journeyed over to Peninsular Malaysia to take on the remaining seven stages of the Tour de Langkawi.

More to come ....