BUKIT JALIL – Astana Qazaqstan Team will bank on sprint specialist, Gleb Syritsa to bring them glory in the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024, which will take place from September 29 to October 6.
This year’s edition marks the third time Syritsa racing for Astana, a team which frequently dominates the final sprints to the finish line in each stage.
He himself has consistently winning stages in the previous editions, one stage in 2022 and two stages in 2023.
The 24-year-old Russian rider will be supported by four riders from Kazakhstan – Vadim Pronsky, Igor Chzan, Yevgeny Gidich, Anton Kuzmin, and German rider Rudiger Selig, according to Astana’s official lineup.
The quest for the sprinter’s Orange Jersey is Syritsa’s dream after missing out last year when Tudor’s Arvid de Kleijn from the Netherlands won with 72 points, followed by Syritsa with 58 points, and Sasha Weemaes (Human Powered Health) with 55 points.
Astana is expected to strengthen its strategy this year, by partnering Syritsa with Selig as his main lead-out man in setting up the final sprint strategy in each of the 1,190-kilometer race stages.
Selig, 35, is an experienced sprinter with notable achievements, including second place in a stage of La Vuelta a España 2016 and Giro d’Italia 2017.
Meanwhile, Kuzmin, 27, is expected to pose a challenge for a top position in the General Classification (GC), with a record of finishing third and fourth at the Tour of Iran and Tour of Istanbul last year.
However, Syritsa and Selig are set to face a tough task this year, as the flatter routes mean the competition among 22 teams will likely be decided at the finish line.
The race will be more open among sprinters, especially with the presence of two other WorldTeams—DSM Firmenich PostNL and EF Education-EasyPost—each fielding their strongest lineups.
LTdL 2024 will consist of an eight-stage race, with the 28th edition returning to Langkawi for the first stage and also covering two locations in Sarawak – Miri and Bintulu.
