BUKIT JALIL – Three Pro teams – Equipo Kern Pharma, Corratec Vini Fantini and VF Group Bardiani have made significant changes to their line-ups just ten days ahead of the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024, which will kick off its 28th edition in Langkawi on September 29.
The Spanish-based Kern Pharma team will instead rely on Miguel Angel Fernandez as their main sprinter, making six rider substitutions in the latest list submitted to LTdL organizers yesterday.
Miguel Angel, 27, who won two stages in the Tour of Hainan last August, will be supported by four fellow countrymen – Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez, Ibon Ruiz Sedano, Unai Iribar Jauregi, Pablo Carrascosa Miller, and Danny Van Der Tuuk (Poland).
Kern Pharma previously listed young Spanish rider Pablo Castrillo, won two stages at the recent Vuelta a Espana and secured third place overll in LTdL 2023. However, the 23-year-old rider had to forgo this year’s LTdL as he received a call-up to his national squad for the UCI World Championships at the end of this month.
Meanwhile, the Corratec team will be banking on Jakub Mareczko, a stage winner in the Tour of Hainan 2024 to lead their challenge from Italy, after making five rider changes.
Jakub has a record of winning eight stages in the Tour of Hainan since 2015 and has won four stages in LTdL from 2016 to 2022.
The 30-year-old Italian rider will be assisted by Alexander Balmer (Switzerland), Valentin Darbellay (Switzerland), Valerio Conti (Italy), Etienne Van Empel (Netherlands), and Giulio Masotto (Italy) in the latest line-up released by the team.
Meanwhile, the Italian-based VF Group Bardiani team has made three rider changes by including David Gabburo, Alex Tolio, and Luca Paletti to replace Vicente Rojas Navanjo, Filipo Turconi, and Enrico Zanoncello.
This team, considered a “regular” in the LTdL, remains capable of providing intense competition in pursuit of stage wins.
A total of 22 teams will compete under unpredictable weather conditions recently, which will undoubtedly present a major challenge for the riders in LTdL 2024, covering a total distance of 1,190 kilometers starting from Langkawi Island and for the first time entering Miri and Bintulu in Sarawak.
