BINTULU: Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) rider Nur Aiman Zariff ended his eighth appearance in Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on a bittersweet note in Sarawak today.
Aiman finished 41st in the general classification, the highest among the 18 Malaysian riders that started the tour, but fell short in his bid to fight for the polka dot (climbers classification) or white jerseys (Asian riders classification).
“It was a really tough tour this year. All the riders were going really hard and the pace was very fast,” said Aiman.
“My goal was to fight for the white or polka dot jerseys but I was not able to really make an impact.
“But I am still happy to finish as the best Malaysian rider and get the Most Combative Rider Award once (stage seven).”
Aiman became the first Malaysian rider to win the LTdL polka dot jersey in 2020, when he was riding for Team Sapura Cycling, and defended it in 2022 with TSG. The tour was not held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Back-to-back climbs at Cameron Highlands (stage three) and Fraser’s Hill (stage four) made the tour tougher on riders this year.
Five Malaysian riders finished out of the time limit (OTL) during the fourth stage and were subsequently forced to sit out the remaining stages. Only 12 Malaysians finished the tour.
“I respect the 12 Malaysian riders that finished the tour. This is not a normal race, it is a very high level competition,” said Aiman.
“I guess some of them just did not have good luck while the others may have not been feeling well on the day. Regardless, everyone tried their best.”
Malaysia national team sprinter Elmi Jumari was involved in a heavy crash during stage two (Arau-Butterworth) and broke two fingers and his collarbone.
– NST
