BUKIT MERTAJAM — National team rider Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli saved his energy during Stage 4 of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today as he is eyeing to recover the white jersey for Best Asian Rider classification in tomorrow’s ‘Queen Stage’.
Nur Aiman said the team had to adapt their strategy after the Thailand Continental Cycling Team slipped past the National Team.
“It’s not that our strategy failed, but we had to adapt to Thailand getting ahead of us.
“We did not want to waste energy chasing after them because tomorrow is a very important stage.
“Tomorrow is the ‘Queen Stage’ and a Hors Category climb, so if we chase after Thailand, we won’t have any energy left to tackle Stage 5.
“We will try to retake the white jersey at Genting Highlands,” he said.
In road cycling racing, a ‘Queen Stage’ refers to the most difficult route of a multi-day road race, typically involving multiple difficult climbs.
While a Hors Category climb is the most difficult climb in the tour, more difficult than a Category 1 climb.
Tomorrow’s Stage 5 will cover a distance of 126.4km, starting in Slim River and ending in Genting Highlands.
The route tomorrow will feature two sprint zones and two Category 1 climbs at Rawang Bypass and Bentong.
Then it will finish with the Hors Category climb up to Genting Highlands, covering a distance of 1,625 meters, with the maximum gradient increasing from 11% to 13.4%.
With an eye on tomorrow’s ‘Queen Stage’, Nur Aiman held back from defending his white jersey for the Best Asian Rider classification in Stage 4 today.
The 140.2 km race started in Bukit Mertajam in Seberang Perai, Penang before ending in Bandar Meru Raya in Ipoh, Perak. — September 26, 2023