CYCLING / LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI: Meiyin makes his luck

OPPORTUNISTIC: Rides to victory after teammates fade away

THE biggest surprise in LeTour de Langkawi history happened on the tough Stage Three from Sungai Siput to Brinchang in Cameron Highlands yesterday when Wang Meiyin swept victory and became the first rider ever to take charge of all four leaders’ jerseys.

Hengxiang Cycling Team’s Meiyin, 25, also became the first ever China rider to win a stage in LTdL and only the third Asian to win the Cameron Highlands stage — one of the two big climbing stages in the race — after Wong Kam Po of Hong Kong in 2000 and Takeaki Ayabe of Japan in 2011.

The victory came as a result of a solo ride all the way up from the foot of Cameron Highlands.

Meiyin, holder of the Asian riders’ classification lead at the start of the stage, had dropped his breakaway companions Loh Sea Keong and Ho Junrong of the OCBC Singapore team, Harrif Saleh of Terengganu Cycling Team and Seo Joon Yong of KSPO.

That quintet had split from the peloton 10 kilometres into the 140.7 kilometre stage and that allowed Harrif to take top points at two intermediate sprints, while compatriot Sea Keong took the other.

Malaysian hopes were running high when Sea Keong and Singaporean teammate Junrong were still ahead of the peloton at the category one summit at Ringlet, 18 kilometres from the finish, while Meiyin was already cruising to his surprise victory a good eight minutes ahead as he approached the tough hors category climb to the finish line in Brinchang.

But Sea Keong suffered on the final climb along with Junrong, allowing a first chase group of more than 20 riders to pass them, leading to Colombia’s Julian David Arredondo of Team Nippo to take second spot two minutes and 27 seconds behind Meiyin. Garmin-Sharp’s Nathan Haas finished third, as a drained Sea Keong laboured to finish 78th eventually.

Meiyin said he hadn’t expected to coast to such an emphatic victory himself and expects his team to pool together to protect the lead in the coming stages, although he doesn’t expect to remain in yellow after the Genting Highlands stage tomorrow.

“This is my greatest moment. I never expected this and it was not part of our plans,” said Meiyin.

“Our plan was for one of our team’s riders to get into a breakaway if it happened, but that rider wasn’t supposed to be me,” added Meiyin, who had claimed the Asian riders’ classification lead after scoring time bonuses at intermediate sprints in a breakaway on Stage One, which was won by Theo Bos in a bunch sprint.

“At first the two riders in my team who were supposed to get in the breakaway did not manage to go, so I had the chance and I went. I was feeling good today. When we approached the climb and I managed to stay away, I just kept going.

“In the coming stages, it is going to be difficult to defend the lead, but we can try to do it. I think I won because nobody expected me to. We’re a small team, so nobody expects us to win stages like this.”

The defence of Meiyin’s leadership in all four classifications begins today in Stage Four which covers 168 kilometres from Tapah to Kapar.

Riders in full concentration during the third stage of the Le Tour de Langkawi yesterday. Pic by Hasriyasyah Sabudin

CYCLING / LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI: Meiyin makes his luck