Team Sky to race in Tour of Langkawi

Team Sky's rider Richie Porte from Australia wins Stage Five of the Tour Down Under last week. - EPA

PETALING JAYA: Cycling giants and two-time Tour de France winners Team Sky will make their debut in this year’s Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL).

Orica-GreenEdge, Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo are the other big names who have signed up for the race, to be held from March 8-15.

“Those are four of the five very best teams in the world,” said LTdL 2015 chief executive officer Datuk Malik Mydin.

“We’re talking about teams who have won three Tour de France, one Giro d’Italia and two Vuelta a Espana in the past three years.

“It’s a huge honour to have them racing in Malaysia,” Malik said in a press release on Tuesday.
Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome won the 2012 and 2013 Tour de France respectively with Team Sky, while Vincenzo Nibali of Astana took it last year.

Nibali also clinched the Giro in 2013 and Alberto Contador of Tinkoff-Saxo won the Vuelta a Espana in 2012 and 2014.

The 20th edition of the LTdL will see cyclists racing from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur via the east coast and Genting Highlands over eight days.

THE TEAMS

1. Team Sky (Bri), 2. Astana Pro Team (Kaz), 3. Orica-GreenEdge (Aus), 4. Tinkoff-Saxo (Den) 5. Colombia (Col), 6. Androni-Venezuela (Ita), 7. Mtn-Qhubeka (Rsa), 8. Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team (US), 9. Yellow Fluo (Ita), 10. Bretagne-Seche Environnement (Fra), 11. Bardiani-CSF (Ita), 12. Terengganu Cycling Team (Mas), 13. Aisan Racing Team (Jpn), 14. Hengxiang Cycling Team (Chn), 15. Synergy Baku Cycling Project (Aze), 16. Pegasus Continental Cycling Team (Ina), 17. Torku Sekerspor (Tur), 18. KSPO (Kor), 19. Giant-Champion System Pro Cycling (Chn), 20. Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team (UAE), 21. National Sports Council Cycling Team (Mas), 22. Malaysia (Mas).

The Star

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