Italian Guardini wins LTdL opener
PETALING JAYA: Italian Andrea Guardini ended his two-year victory drought after winning a bunch sprint to bag the opening stage of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2018.
The 28-year-old finished the 147km stage from Kangar to Kulim by chalking up his 23rd stage win in the LTdL.
The Bardiani-CSF rider, who exploded onto the professional scene with five stage wins in his debut in 2011, credited the victory to the right strategy deployed by his team.
According to Guardini, the team decision to put him in a comfortable position to dominate the final sprint enabled him to finish ahead of KSPO’s Seo Joon-yong and Dimension Data’s Mekseb Debesay in a stage that ended in 3’29:04.
Despite the promising start, Guardini prefers to be grounded and will take a cautious approach to Stage 2 from Gerik to Kota Baru today, which includes a tricky climb across the Titiwangsa Range.
“The team brought me to the front to be in a good position in the last 500m. I managed to enter the final sprint in a perfect position. I’m so happy to have started well in this LTdL,” said Guardini after the race.
“This win also shows that I’ve improved my performance because this time there are more established sprinters in the race compared to when I first came here in 2011.”
The opening stage win earned Guardini the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the race.
He also leads the points classification with 19 points, seven ahead of Joon-yong and nine ahead of third- placed Wang Bo of Hengxiang Cycling Team.
The LTdL 2018 continues with Stage 2 today, which covers 208.2km from Gerik to Kota Baru.