BUKIT JALIL: The Astana Qazaqstan Team will bank on their sprint specialist, Gleb Syritsa to bring them glory in the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) from Sept 29-Oct 6.

The National Sports Council (NSC) in a statement said this year’s LTdL edition marks the third time that Syritsa will be racing for Astana, a team that had frequently dominated the final sprints to the finish line in each stage of the road race.

Syritsa had also proven himself to be consistent by winning race stages in the previous editions, which included 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 line-up.

LTdL will comprise 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.The first stage will begin in Langkawi, followed by the second stage from Arau to Butterworth, Taiping to Cameron Highland (Stage 3), Kuala Kubu Baru to Bentong (Stage 4), Kuala Lumpur to Melaka (Stage 5), Batu Pahat to Kulai (Stage 6), Miri to Bintulu (Stage 7) and Bintulu (Stage 8).

– Bernama/The Star