Le Tour de Langkawi 2026 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

September 27, 2026

30th Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi 2026 🇲🇾 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 1 – Shah Alam – Kampar : 193 km

Le Tour de Langkawi is a UCI ProSeries 2.Pro multi-stage road race across Malaysia, combining flat coastal roads, rolling countryside and demanding mountain stages. The route typically features eight stages of roughly 100–200 km, with substantial variation in terrain and rhythm. Most stages are predominantly paved and fast, with long straight sections and open roads, while the hillier stages introduce sustained climbs that can reach gradients of 8–12%, followed by technical descents and rapid transitions into valleys. High temperatures, humidity and tropical rainfall can add significant environmental difficulty, particularly on longer stages. Positioning is important on exposed roads and before climbs, while sudden changes in weather can alter road conditions and the pace of the peloton. Breakaways often form early, with the main field controlling the advantage before increasing the tempo toward key climbs or finishing circuits. Mountain stages can create substantial gaps, while flatter stages allow groups to regroup and favor sprinters. Stage finishes can range from bunch sprints to reduced-group battles or solo attacks after the principal climbs.

Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) sprinted to victory in Kampar to claim the first stage of the 30th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi and reassert his sprint supremacy at a race where he claimed three wins last year.

Malucelli, who crashed the day ahead of the race and was nursing banged-up hands, charged through the finish line in the Perak township with a tin mining past and forested hilly backdrop ahead of Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure). It was the tightest of battles for the win, with Pickrell going early and Malucelli only just closing the gap. Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) claimed third.

It was a win that was hard-earned not just because he had to chase Pickrell down. The crash on Saturday had left Malucelli getting x-rays on his hand and receiving treatment, plus his team was left doing much of the work to make sure it came to a sprint given the mark they made on the race last year, with three victories from Malucelli and then, after the Italian crashed out on stage 6, Aaron Gate also stepped up to secure another on stage 8.

“The team did a really good job at the start to control the race because everybody knows that here we are the stronger team for the sprint,” Malucelli told the media after the stage. “So we did a really good job delivering during the stage, and at the end they did a super lead out for me.

“It’s not easy because everybody looks to us, but if you have a good legs, you can do a good job.”

Even before the riders had set of there was little doubt that the sprinters would be determined to come out and play on the 193km stage from Shah Alam, given the climbing days ahead. That didn’t stop a wave of break attempts in the early part of the day, as riders set off in already hot and humid conditions, with the temperature over 30°C.

The only KOM, a category 4 climb at Meru, provided the initial incentive, coming at just 9km into the stage. That was won by Petr Rikunov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu), so for Monday at least, he has the jersey, which in this case is bubbles rather than polka dots given the drink sponsorship, sewn up.

After that, the waves of attacks continued, ultimately with Aiman Rosli (Terengganu), Javier Ibanez (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), Pablo Carrascosa (Equipo Kern Pharma), Andrei Stepanov (Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu) and Liam Cuthbertson (St George Continental Cycling) forming a group of five out the front. Ibanez took the first intermediate sprint at 29km, and from the ever-shrinking lead group it was then Rosli that took the second at 48.2km

The riders continued to drop until it was just Ibanez and Stepanov out front for the third intermediate sprint at Teluk Intan at 149.8km into the day of racing. The top points went to Ibanez once again, and then they sat up and rejoined the XDS-Astana-led peloton, which was wearing the responsibility of making sure the day ended with a bunch sprint. It wasn’t, however, all sewn up, as Ibanez and Stepanov were caught by a late attack from last year’s stage 7 winner Zeb Kyffin (Terengganu), who was only pulled back within 2km of the line.

Now the sprinters have an entirely different challenge ahead for stage 2, with the time limit the goal rather than making it over the line first as Monday will deliver a 145.6km day from Taipang that finishes at the top of the Gunung Jerai climb.

Geoffrey Bouchard (Total Energies) will not, however, be starting that stage as the rider who is retiring at this race was unfortunately a DNF on stage 1. Rosli will be lining up in the the Best Asian Rider jersey after his efforts in the break while Malucelli, of course, will be in the orange jersey of the race leader.

Results :