BUKIT JALIL – The World Tour team, EF Education-EasyPost will be banking on four high profile riders to defend the overall best rider (GC) and best team titles in the upcoming PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024, which will take place from September 29 to October 6.
The star-studded line-up is led by last year’s overall green jersey winner, Simon Carr from Great Britain, and also includes Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (Ecuador), Jhoan Esteban Chaves (Colombia), Hugh Carthy (Great Britain), Markel Beloki Fernandez (Spain) and Stefan De Bod (South Africa).
The participation of these four top climbers will surely be a major highlight in this year’s LTdL, as they all have nearly equal performances, which could put a strong challenge on two other World Team squads namely Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kazakhstan) and DMS Firminich PostNL (Netherlands).
Carr, 25, born in Hereford, has already secured two stage wins in Europe this year – at the Trofeo Calvia in Spain and the Tour of the Alps, and will definitely be out to defend the green jersey which he won last year.
Cepeda, 26, emerged as the best overall rider in the 2.1 Class 1 Tour de l’Ain in France last July, and he also finished second overall behind Carr in the 2023 LTdL.
Not to be overlooked is British-born rider Hugh Carthy, 30, who achieved second overall in the 2022 LTdL and third overall in the 2023 Gree Tour of Guangxi.
Chaes, 34, is considered the most experienced rider in the team, frequently challenging for overall standings with a record in the Giro d’Italia, where he won three stages from 2016 to 2019, and finished 35th overall in this year’s Giro.
While having four climbers, it might give EF Education an edge, the team’s overall strategy will be crucial as this year’s LTdL is slightly different than the previous editions, featuring routes with longer flat sections and an early climb in the third stage from Taiping to Cameron Highlands.
This year’s race will span 1,190 kilometers, starting from Langkawi, which returns to the race’s route, and concluding with the final two stages, held for the first time, in the Sarawak cities of Miri and Bintulu.
