Lionel Taminiaux (Alpecin-Deceuninck) emerged victorious on stage 5 of the Petronas Tour de Langkawi, leaping from the breakaway in pursuit of Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) before edging him out at the line in Kulim.
Carter Bettles (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) took third on the 172km inland stage from Kuala Kangsar, having almost linked onto the leading two.
He’d also attacked from the strong break of 11 that was stacked not with the usual line-up of national and Continental squads, but with a rider from every one of the six WorldTour teams.
“It was normal that it was the strong guys in the front because it was a hard race up till the breakaway,” Taminiaux told reporters in Kulim.
The group clipped off the front after a fast start pushed into a solid pace on the category-2 climb at 62.5km into the stage. It went on the flat, after the descent, working together to hold off the closing peloton before the attacks started coming on the run into the line.
“At 3km to go, Van den Berg attacked and I managed to close the gap. I sprinted from far out. It was hard but I played it well I think,” said Taminiaux.
“I like to do lead-out like yesterday for [stage 4 winner Jakub] Mareczko but I also like to take my chance. It doesn’t happen often so I’m happy today.”
The eight-stage Malaysian race, which went from the queen stage on Thursday to the flattest stage of the race so far on Friday, added one classified climb into the mix on Saturday as it continued to work its way up Peninsular Malaysia toward Langkawi. While the break stayed away, its composition meant there was no alteration to the top of the overall standings.
Ivan Sosa (Movistar) held on to his overall lead and the 23-second gap to his nearest rival Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost).
How it unfolded
Lining up at Kuala Kangsar, which has been home to Perak’s royal family since the 18th century, the expectation among many was that this would probably be another stage for the sprinters, given the only classified climb of the day peaked more than 100km from the finish. The second longest stage of the race, however, didn’t turn out that way.
The peloton flashed through the countryside and the villages tucked in among the tree covered hills and toward Lake Raban, with the breaks trying to get away, but the chase was as determined as the speed was high, with an average of 50.6km in the first half hour.
The first intermediate sprint came at 34.2, with Igor Chzhan (Astana-Qazaqstan) taking top…
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