MELAKA - Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider clinched his second stage win in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2023 when he emerged triumphant in the 174.5-kilometre (km) Stage Six from Karak to Melaka today.
The Dutchman, who won Stage One on Saturday (Sept 23), broke away from the main group to cross the finish line in four hours, eight minutes and 19 seconds, followed by Sasha Weemaes of Team Human Powered Health and Gleb Syritsa of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
The race commissaires awarded the 10 top cyclists with the same time - 4:08.19s - after they all crossed the line in a bunched sprint.
"It’s great... it was a super nice team effort. We were struggling a bit to hit the front. But we managed to do it at the right time, with a lead out like this it’s amazing and I managed to finish it off, so it was super nice,” he said.
With his second win, the 29-year-old maintained his domination on the orange jersey (Sprint King) by accumulating 45 points.
There were no changes in the fight for the other three main jerseys following the completion of Stage Six.
The green jersey, meant for the overall leader, continued to be worn by EF Education-Easypost rider Simon Carr, with an overall time of 23:33.29s, despite finishing today's Stage Six in 55th spot.
De Kleijn's teammate, Simon Pellaud retained the polka-dot jersey (King of the Mountain) while Kazakhstan rider Vadim Pronskiy (Astana Qazaqstan Team) retained the white jersey (Best Asian Rider) for the second consecutive stage.
The 123.8km Stage Seven, the penultimate stage, from Muar to Seremban tomorrow will present a less challenging route, with only three sprint zones in Umbai, Cheng and Linggi. - BERNAMA