Race for LTdL White Jersey wide open

KUALA LUMPUR: The race for the White Jersey (Best Asian Rider) in the 2017 Le Tour de Langkawi ( LTdL) Cycling Championship is expected to an open race after incumbent, Mohd Adiq Husainie Othman decided to pull out from the race due to injury.

LTdL Chief Executive Officer Emir Abdul Jalal said though the Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) rider would not feature in this year’s race, he believes riders from KSPO of South Korea and also a couple of Indonesian riders will give their best to win the jersey.

“KSPO is sending six top riders and there are also a few riders from Indonesia who will take part this year, so the competition for the White Jersey will be an open affair.

“I also believe there is a possibility that a foreign rider representing the Malaysian continental team would win the White Jersey but it is certainly not a Malaysian rider,” Emir said.

He was speaking to reporters after unveiling BMW Group Malaysia as the White Jersey sponsor and also the official automotive partner for the 2017 LTdL race, here yesterday. Three Malaysian teams will feature in the 2017 LTdL, namely Malaysian National Team, TSG and debutant Sapura Cycling Team.

On another note, Emir said they were in the midst of finalising the number of riders who will feature in this year’s edition as there are slight changes at the last minute due to various factors such as injury and race strategies.

“The number of teams and riders is expected to be finalised before the teams presentation which will take place on Feb 21 in Kuala Terengganu,” he added.

Meanwhi le, BMW Group Malaysia Head of Communications Sashi Ambi said the company was delighted to be part of the race which will see about 200 Mini Cooper Countryman, BMW cars and BMW motorcycles used throughout the race from Feb 22 to March 1.

“What makes us interested to be a part of this race is that it promotes grassroots cycling which is important for the development of young talents. At the premium level, we understand that a lot of our core customers also like to cycle,” Sashi said but did not mention on the exact figures of sponsorship. — Bernama