TUDOR Pro Cycling Team rider Arvid de Kleijn secured his second stage victory at Le Tour de Langkawi by winning Stage Six from Shah Alam to Port Dickson today.
The 31-year-old Dutch cyclist triumphed in a mass sprint finish after completing the 123.5-kilometre route in two hours, 32 minutes and 55 seconds.
Erlend Blikra from Uno X Mobility claimed second position in today’s stage.
Manuel Penalver Aniorte of Team Polti VisitMalta rounded out the podium by finishing third.
De Kleijn described his victory as bittersweet following rival Matteo Malucelli’s crash-induced withdrawal at the 16.5-kilometre mark.
“First of all, I want to say it was really unfortunate that Malucelli was involved in a crash,” de Kleijn said after the race.
“I was looking forward to competing against him more,” he added.
The Dutch rider expressed hope for Malucelli’s swift recovery from the incident.
Today’s victory propelled de Kleijn to second place in the Orange Jersey sprint classification with 42 points.
De Kleijn now trails classification leader Blikra by just three points in the sprint standings.
XDS Astana rider Nicolya Vinokuro maintained his lead in the White Jersey for Best Asian Rider.
Patrick Eddy of Team Picnic PostNL retained the Polka Dot Jersey as King of the Mountains.
Malaysia Pro Cycling rider Mohamad Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil earned Best ASEAN Rider honours for Stage Six.
The 2.Pro status race continues tomorrow with Stage Seven from Melaka to Medini.
Tomorrow’s 214.9-kilometre stage will feature three sprint zones in Sungai Rambai, Semerah and Pontian. – Bernama