Every year Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi brings together some of the best riders from around the world to race in beautiful, yet highly challenging, race routes in Malaysia.
Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi, which started in 1996, also offers Malaysian riders the opportunity to showcase their skills in a UCI ProSeries level race.
This year three Malaysian teams will be competing: Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) and Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC), which are both UCI continental teams, as well as the Malaysia National Team.
These are among the most exciting Malaysian riders competing this year:
1. Harrif Saleh (TSG)
Harrif, 36, is without a doubt the most successful Malaysian rider in road cycling. The Terengganu-born sprinter has three Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi stage wins to his name, two of which came in 2020 and one in 2019. He is also the first Malaysian to have won a UCI sanctioned race in Europe (GP Velo Manavgat, Turkiye 2021).
2. Nur Aiman Zariff (TSG)
Nur Aiman Zariff, 26, made history by becoming the first Malaysian rider to win the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi red jersey (mountains classification) in 2020 and proved it was no fluke by defending the jersey in 2022 (race was not held in 2021 due to Covid-19).
3. Nur Aiman Rosli (TSG)
Nur Aiman Rosli, 25, raised eyebrows when he briefly took charge of the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi white jersey (Asian riders classification) after the third stage last year.
He has had a strong season this year, claiming a stage win at the Tour of Thailand in April and also finishing second in the mountains classification at the Tour of Istanbul earlier this month. He narrowly missed out on the podium after coming in fourth in the Asian Championships road race in Kazakhstan (June).
4. Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki (TSG)
Nur Amirull Fakhruddin Mazuki, 32, has been a key member of the TSG squad over the past decade. He briefly took charge of the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi red jersey last year and is always capable of a surprise.
Amirull had a strong season last year, among the highlights include winning one gold and one silver for Malaysia at the Cambodia Sea Games.
5. Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil (MPC)
Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil, 29, has shown strong form this year, claiming three stage podium finishes and winning the points classification jersey at the Tour of Thailand. He also achieved two top-five stage finishes at Tour de Banyuwangi Ijen (July).
6. Zulfikri Zulkifli (MPC)
Zulfikri Zulkifli is adept at both mountain biking (MTB) and road racing. He won gold at the Asian MTB Championships in Putrajaya in June this year and also achieved a stage podium finish at the Tour of Thailand.
7. Ren Bao Tsen (Malaysia National Team)
Tsen Ren Bao is seen as a bright talent for the future. He impressed at the Tour of Thailand in April where he topped the young riders classification and finished 10th in the general classification.
