Peñalver adds another top-5 finish in Langkawi

Another sprint finish in the Tour de Langkawi, with an exceptional work of Team Polti Kometa in the last two kilometres looking to place Manuel Peñalver who was fifth at the finish line. Fernando Tercero keeps the fourth position in the general classification.

Long day and many alternatives today in the Tour de Langkawi, with the presence of rain, with crashes and punctures of the favourites and also movements of the race leader himself. At all times, Team Polti Kometa knew how to control the situation to maintain its interests until the end.

With 2 kilometres to go, with the lack of teams leading the peloton, up to three Polti Kometa riders occupied the first positions. The work towards the mass finish with Manuel Peñalver was damaged by the fall of Andrea Pietrobon, which prevented them from having an extra rider to launch the sprint. Nevertheless, Peñalver was again in the fight and finished fifth.

Manuel Peñalver: “Today I finish the stage with anger at not being able to give the team a better result after the great work of everyone. I thank them for trusting me and working like that, in the end not all the sprints go as we want and I thought that after the roundabout sprint would be launched immediately and I anticipated and it was long. You learn from your mistakes and we have 3 more opportunities, it’s a pity about Pietro’s crash but it’s nothing serious”.

Jesús Hernández, sporting director: ‘Pietro’s crash at the end of the race threw our work out of kilter, although we did well and again achieved a noteworthy result with Peñalver. Some days fortune makes crashes happen behind you and other days just in front of you, so we just have to keep trying’.

A short and nervous day waits tomorrow, with 123 kilometres between Batu Pahat and Kulai with a constant up and down in the final part, and where the general classification may undergo some changes with the movements of the favourites. The equality in the top-10 will encourage the ambitious to try to storm the podium of the Tour de Langkawi.