Pelucchi posts first victory in Androni colours in Langkawi

The Italian sprinter proved a bit too fast for Australian track rider-turned-road cyclist Blake Quick (St George Continental Cycling Team) and American Travis McCabe (Floyd’s Pro Racing) in a rain-coated bunch sprint final in Malaysia on Wednesday.

The win gives the former Bora-Hansgrohe rider his first victory for his new team and the first since Okolo Slovenska (2.1) last year, and only his second since claiming four wins in 2015, including two stages at Tour de Pologne (2.UWT) in 2015.

"The pace today was very fast, especially in the first hour,” said the 30-year-old Pelucchi following the finish of the 200.1-kilometre stage from Tanjung Malim to Taiping. “Our team worked hard, especially in the final three kilometres to catch the front rider and coming into the last corner, I was at the front and got a clear sprint in a straight line.”

"I like this type of sprint, which is not very technical,” he continued. “It was a straight forward bunch sprint. It was a big goal for the team to win a stage and they trusted me to do the job. Now we will hunt for another stage win after this."

Queen Stage winner Benjamin Dyball (Team Sapura Cycling), who lifted the yellow jersey from McCabe atop the Genting Highlands, remains the overall race leader with a 27-second lead over Colombian Hernán Aguirre (Interpro Cycling Academy) in second.

The recently crowned Oceania road race and time trial champion benefitted greatly by Sapura teammate Cristian Raileanu’s second day in the break and his team’s observant eye over the peloton.

"Although there was an early attack, Raileanu was with the first group, so there was no panic,” explained Dyball. “The race was very active in the first hour, with high speed but the peloton always kept the time gaps in check. And when it came to a bunch sprint, I just played it safe.

“With a shorter stage after this, it should be easier to keep the jersey.”

American Keegan Swirbul (Floyds Pro Cycling) rounds out the general classification top 3, trailing the 29-year-old Australian by 50 seconds as Kazakh Vadim Pronskiy (Vino-Astana Motors) sits just off the podium 1-minute, 5-seconds adrift of the race leader.

Stage 3 winner McCabe still leads the points classification, while Australian Angus Lyons (Oliver’s Real Food Racing) continues to maintain his stranglehold on the mountain’s jersey since claiming it on the opening stage.

The 24th edition of LTdL resumes on Thursday with a 130.8km coastal stage from Bagan to Alor Setar before travelling by ferry to the island of Langkawi for the final two days of the eight-stage UCI 2.HC Asia Tour road race.

For full stage and race results, click here.