Double top-10 sprint finish and Fernando Tercero 4th overall at the Tour de Langkawi
Team Polti Kometa said goodbye to the Tour de Langkawi in style, with another sprint finish where Manuel Peñalver and David Martín finished in the top-6. Thanks to the team work, Fernando Tercero kept the 4th position in the final overall of the race. Team Polti Kometa took the podium as the third best team in Langkawi.
The rain was again present in the last stage of the Tour de Langkawi, without being decisive. The movements of the breakaways and also the fight for bonuses, kept the race alive during the 147.5 kilometres. Thanks to the good team work and the movement of David Martin in the last of these bonus points, Fernando Tercero’s 4th place in the general classification was confirmed.
In the sprint finish, the team rode together perfectly until the last kilometre. Then the finish was opened with the different groups looking for their option, and both Manuel Peñalver and David Martín managed to finish in fifth and sixth position, in a new triumph for Malucelli (Ukyo). The balance in the mass finals has been wonderful for Team Polti Kometa, with 3 top-10 and 6 top-5 including the second position by photofinish in the second stage.
Fernando Tercero’s 4th place on the edge of the podium, in a general classification that was won by Poole (DSM) after his victory in the queen stage, means the confirmation that the rider from La Mancha has finally overcome his health problems that have kept him out of competition for a large part of the season. The 10th place in the hardest day, after being protagonist in the final climb, has served him to sign the 4th position in the general classification. This is great news that fills him with hope not only for the remaining races, but also for 2025.
Manuel Peñalver: “We couldn’t get the win in the end, but we were in the fight in all the sprints. It’s a pity to have been so close, but at the same time we showed that the level was very high and we will try to keep fighting to raise our arms”.
Fernando Tercero: ‘I’m very happy to see myself at the front at the end of the season, after a very complicated year. I want to thank the whole team for their work, especially David Martín who managed to take the bonus away from my adversary in the general classification to finish in 4th position’.
Jesús Hernández, sports director: ‘The attitude and behaviour of the team today, as in the rest of the competition, was excellent. I want to highlight the work of David Martín in covering Fernando Tercero’s chances in the general classification, by preventing his adversaries from getting a bonus in the last scoring pass. That position means much more than an ‘almost podium’, because it has been a very difficult season for him and this shows that he has overcome all his health problems. Then in the sprint, both Peñalver and David Martín confirmed their high level to close this race again with the best’.
