FRENCH rider Joris Delbove conquered the climb to Bukit Fraser and clinched Stage Five of the 2025 Le Tour de Langkawi today.
The TotalEnergies rider completed the 123.1 kilometre route from Temerloh in three hours 25 seconds to secure victory.
Delbove beat Anders Halland Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility by two seconds in a thrilling finish.
Switzerland’s Yannis Voisard of Tudor Pro Cycling Team finished third with the same time as the runner-up.
The Stage Five victory helped Delbove take over the Green Jersey as overall leader.
This ended Matteo Malucelli of XDS Astana Team’s four-stage hold on the overall lead.
Delbove expressed his happiness at achieving the team’s ambitious goal despite strong competition.
“We came here to win the overall jersey and especially this stage,“ he said after the race.
The French rider acknowledged the challenge was complicated but remained realistic about their chances.
Malucelli retained the Orange Jersey for sprint points despite losing the overall lead.
Patrick Eddy of Team Picnic PostNL kept the Polka Dot Jersey as King of the Mountains.
XDS Astana rider Nicolya Vinokurov took over the White Jersey for Best Asian Rider.
He replaced Terengganu Cycling Team’s Vadim Pronskiy in the Asian rider classification.
St George Continental Cycling Team rider Tsen Ren Bao emerged as the best Malaysian rider after finishing 44th.
Thailand Continental Cycling Team rider Thanakhan Chaiyasombat was named Best ASEAN Rider for Stage Five.
Stage Six of the 2.Pro status race continues tomorrow from Shah Alam to Port Dickson.
The 123.5 kilometre stage will feature three sprint zones in Jenjarom, Banting and Sungai Pelek. – Bernama