BUKIT JALIL – Tudor Pro Cycling Team aims to be a major contender in the three main jersey categories, including the General Classification (GC) title at the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024 cycling tour series, which will take place from September 29 to October 6.
The team, which recently unveiled their roster for the LTdL, has included names such Arvid de Kleijn (Netherlands), Simin Pellaud (Switzerland), Sebastian Kolze Changizi (Denmark), Rick Pluimers and Maikel Zijlaard (Netherlands), and Mathys Rondel (France).
Kleijn, who leads the roster for the Swiss-based team, won two stages of last year’s LTdL edition, and is expected to be the top contender for the Sprint Jersey, while teammate Pellaud is one of the favourites to win the Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains).
The year 2024 has been a standout year for de Kleijn, nicknamed ‘Little Gorilla’, with his World Tour debut victory at Stage 2 of Paris-Nice and three podium finishes, including two second place finishings at the UAE Tour.
The inclusion of formidable cyclists such as Pluimers and Zijlaard shows Tudor’s appearance this year is not to just make up the numbers.
The 23-year-old Pluimers has remarkable sprint and climbing abilities, with his best result this year being a second-place finish at Stage 3 of the Gree-Tour of Guangxi, while the 25-year-old Zijlaard is another sprinter with his best performance in the prologue of the Tour de Romandie last April.
Making his debut for Tudor this year is 20 years old French rider, Mathys Rondel who has several GC podium achievements in Europe.
A total of 22 teams including three World Teams – EF Education Easypost from the USA, Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kazakhstan), and DMS Firminich PostNL (Netherlands) – will spice up the competition at LTdL 2024.
The 28th edition of LTdL 2024 is scheduled to take place from September 29 to October 6, featuring eight stages covering a distance of 1,190 kilometers.
Langkawi Island returns to the route this year, which also includes, for the first time, two race stages to be held in two cities in Sarawak: Miri (Stage Seven) and Bintulu (Stage Eight).
