BUKIT JALIL – The Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024 is heating up with the confirmation of Frank Van Den Broek making an appearance, this year.
The 23-year-old rider from the Netherlands, has been named as one of the riders of the World Team DSM Firmenich PostNL, who is making a debut this year.
Van Den Broeck will certainly carry a special aura, as he recently enjoyed a sweet success in his professional career when he finished second behind his teammate Romain Bardet in the first stage of this year’s ‘Grand Tour’ – Tour de France.
Describing his performance as extraordinary in the Tour de France, the young rider’s ability is well-balanced, showing remarkable endurance in high-altitude stages, breaking away on the 206-kilometer route from Firenze to Rimini, and maintaining that momentum alongside Bardet across the finish line — a stage that also saw overall champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) finish only in 4th place.
He continued his momentum with the team by winning the first stage – Team Time Trial (TTT) of the Tour of Denmark, placing seventh overall individually recently, and emerging as the overall champion at the Tour of Turkiye 2024.
Besides Van Den Broek, the DSM Firmenich team will feature riders such as Alex Edmondson (Australia), Niklas Markl (Germany), Casper Van Uden (Netherlands), Bjoern Koerdt (Great Britain), and Johan Dorussen (Netherlands).
The DSM Firmenich team is seen as a strong contender among the 22 teams competing in LTdL 2024 in the battle for overall and stage victories, promising fierce competition among the three World Teams participating in LTdL this year.
Meanwhile, Edmondson, or more fondly known as Edmo, will be a highlight of LTdL 2024 as his personal profile shows he will appear in his hometown, Miri, Sarawak, which will be the starting line of stage 7 of LTdL this year.
Edmo, 30, has been part of the Australian track cycling team with appearances at the 2012 London Olympics, won the 2014 World Championship in individual pursuit, and claimed a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2016 Rio Olympics, before transitioning to road racing with Orica GreenEdge from 2016 to 2022.
This year’s 1,190-kilometer race, which is scheduled to be held from September 29 to October 6, will see Langkawi Island back on the route, along with two stages for the first time ever being held in two cities in Sarawak – Miri and Bintulu.
