Guardini extends Tour de Langkawi record with win No. 19

Andrea Guardini opened the Tour de Langkawi Wednesday with a stage win, his 19th victory at the annual race in Malaysia.

This year marks the sixth time Guardini has competed at the race, and he holds the record for the most career stage wins at the event, which began in 1996.

Finishing close behind the Astana rider in Wednesday’s bunch sprint finish were Brenton Jones of Drapac and Andrea Palini of Skydive Dubai.

“It’s always hard to win, especially when being the hot favorite,” Guardini said afterward. “In stage 1, it’s also difficult to take control of the events. Everyone was waiting for my team to do it. Fortunately, Southeast collaborated with us to catch the breakaway. There were good riders at the front but a lot of headwind at the end.”

Because of time bonuses, Guardini leads Wang Meiyin of the Hengxiang Cycling Team by 2 seconds in the general classification. Terengganu Cycling Team’s Muhamad Adiq Husainie Othman is third at 3 seconds back.

Stage 1, top 10

• 1. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, in 4:15:57
• 2. Brenton JONES, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :00
• 3. Andrea PALINI, SKD, at :00
• 4. John MURPHY, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 5. Dylan PAGE, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 6. Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF, at :00
• 7. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 8. Shimpei FUKUDA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :00
• 9. Marco BENFATTO, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 10. Mohd Harrif SALEH, TSG, at :00

Top 10 overall

• 1. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, in 4:15:47
• 2. Meiyin WANG, HEN, at :02
• 3. Muhamad Adiq Husainie OTHMAN, TSG, at :03
• 4. Brenton JONES, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :04
• 5. Andrea PALINI, SKD, at :06
• 6. Meher HASNAOUI, SKD, at :08
• 7. John MURPHY, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 8. Dylan PAGE, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 9. Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF, at :10
• 10. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :10

Wednesday’s stage covered 166.6 kilometers from Kangar to Baling and included three intermediate sprints and three rated climbs. Following the third climb, a Cat. 3 that peaked with about 24km left, the route was downhill all the way to the finish.

Guardini said the remaining seven stages will be harder for Astana to control because it will press on with one less rider after Ruslan Tleubayev crashed out of stage 1 with a broken collarbone.

“It’s nice to have the jersey but it’ll be even more difficult to control the race with one rider less,” Guardini said.

Guardini has never won the GC at Langkawi, but he was victorious in the points classification in 2011 and 2012.

A four-man group broke away early in stage 1, but Astana and Southeast worked together to reel them in. One rider from that quartet, Loh Sea Keong of the Malaysia national team, lasted until there were just 10km left before being caught.

Thursday’s second stage will stretch 158km from Sungai Petani to Georgetown.

Stage 1 results

• 1. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, in 4:15:57
• 2. Brenton JONES, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :00
• 3. Andrea PALINI, SKD, at :00
• 4. John MURPHY, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 5. Dylan PAGE, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 6. Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF, at :00
• 7. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 8. Shimpei FUKUDA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :00
• 9. Marco BENFATTO, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 10. Mohd Harrif SALEH, TSG, at :00
• 11. Paolo SIMION, BARDIANI CSF, at :00
• 12. Nicola RUFFONI, BARDIANI CSF, at :00
• 13. Hyeonseok KIM, KSPO, at :00
• 14. Siu Wai KO, HKS, at :00
• 15. Jakub MARECZKO, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :00
• 16. Graeme BROWN, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :00
• 17. Karol DOMAGALSKI, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :00
• 18. Mirco MAESTRI, BARDIANI CSF, at :00
• 19. George HARPER, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :00
• 20. Kangeun JOO, KSPO, at :00
• 21. Patria RASTRA, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 22. Marcelo FELIPE, 7ES, at :00
• 23. Daniel Alexander JARAMILLO DIEZ, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 24. Nur Amirul Fakhruddin MARZUKI, TSG, at :00
• 25. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
• 26. Jesper HANSEN, TINKOFF, at :00
• 27. Lachlan NORRIS, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :00
• 28. Matthew Harley GOSS, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :00
• 29. Sung Baek PARK, KSPO, at :00
• 30. Jaco VENTER, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 31. Novardianto JAMALIDIN, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 32. Zhang ZHENG, HEN, at :00
• 33. Colin STÜSSI, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 34. Carlos Alexandre MANARELLI, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :00
• 35. Mohd Fauzan AHMAD LUTFI, MAS, at :00
• 36. Janez BRAJKOVIC, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 37. Gavin MANNION, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :00
• 38. Murad TAREK OBAID, SKD, at :00
• 39. Miguel Angel LOPEZ MORENO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
• 40. Valentin BAILLIFARD, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 41. Mohd Azri AHMAD, MAS, at :00
• 42. Francisco MANCEBO PEREZ, SKD, at :00
• 43. Songezo JIM, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 44. Teten ROHENDI, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 45. Adrien NIYONSHUTI, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 46. Xiaolong SUN, MSS, at :00
• 47. Zhao JINGBIAO, HEN, at :00
• 48. Erik BASKA, TINKOFF, at :00
• 49. Andrea DAL COL, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :00
• 50. Giulio CICCONE, BARDIANI CSF, at :00
• 51. Tanner PUTT, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 52. Luca CHIRICO, BARDIANI CSF, at :00
• 53. Tomohiro HAYAKAWA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :00
• 54. Alberto NARDIN, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 55. Masakazu ITO, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :00
• 56. Meng YAN, HEN, at :00
• 57. Francesco CHICCHI, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 58. Yoshimitsu HIRATSUKA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :00
• 59. Sofian Nabil MOHD BAKRI, NSC, at :00
• 60. Joon Yong SEO, KSPO, at :00
• 61. Ivan SANTAROMITA, SKD, at :00
• 62. Samuele CONTI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :00
• 63. Kun-Soo KIM, KSPO, at :00
• 64. Ryan MACANALLY, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 65. Irwandie LAKASEK, NSC, at :00
• 66. Roland THALMANN, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 67. Luca PACIONI, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 68. Richard HANDLEY, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :00
• 69. Francisco CHAMORRO, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :00
• 70. Ma GUANGTONG, HEN, at :00
• 71. Wenlong ZHANG, MSS, at :00
• 72. John Bohn EBSEN, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :00
• 73. Michael GOGL, TINKOFF, at :00
• 74. Antonio PIEDRA PEREZ, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :00
• 75. Evgeny PETROV, TINKOFF, at :00
• 76. Baler RAVINA, 7ES, at :00
• 77. Julen AMEZQUETA, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :00
• 78. Simone STERBINI, BARDIANI CSF, at :00
• 79. Azman ZULKIFLI MOHD, MAS, at :00
• 80. James ORAM, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :00
• 81. Amir RUSLI, MAS, at :00
• 82. Burr HO, HKS, at :00
• 83. Edgar NOHALES NIETO, 7ES, at :00
• 84. Muhamad Zawawi AZMAN, NSC, at :00
• 85. Tomas Aurelio GIL MARTINEZ, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :00
• 86. Ka Hoo Fung, HKS, at :00
• 87. Ho San CHIU, HKS, at :00
• 88. Nick DOUGALL, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 89. Tiziano DALL’ANTONIA, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 90. Jesse James EWART, 7ES, at :00
• 91. Choon Huat GOH, TSG, at :00
• 92. Meiyin WANG, HEN, at :00
• 93. Otavio DIDIER BULGARELLI, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :00
• 94. Hyo Suk GONG, KSPO, at :00
• 95. Giuseppe FONZI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :00
• 96. Agung SAHBANA, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 97. Li Jun BAI, MSS, at :00
• 98. Jianpeng LIU, HEN, at :00
• 99. Johann VAN ZYL, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
• 100. Mark John Lexer GALEDO, 7ES, at :00
• 101. Mohd Nazri MUHAMAD, NSC, at :00
• 102. João GASPAR, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :00
• 103. Ahmad Muazzam Iman MUSTAFA KAMAL, NSC, at :00
• 104. Jonathan CLARKE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 105. Thomas SCULLY, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :00
• 106. Dias OMIRZAKOV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
• 107. Muhamad Adiq Husainie OTHMAN, TSG, at :00
• 108. Ya Ke HOU, MSS, at :00
• 109. Meher HASNAOUI, SKD, at :00
• 110. Juraj SAGAN, TINKOFF, at :58
• 111. Tristan MARGUET, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 112. Pablo URTASUN PEREZ, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at 1:00
• 113. Takeaki AYABE, AISAN RACING TEAM, at 1:08
• 114. Jens MOURIS, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at 1:20
• 115. Fuwen XUE, MSS, at 1:20
• 116. Tyler MAGNER, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 1:38
• 117. Shiki KUROEDA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :00
• 118. Mohd Shahrul MAT AMIN, TSG, at :00
• 119. Afiq Huznie OTHMAN, NSC, at :00
• 120. Sea Keong LOH, MAS, at 1:55
• 121. Marco BANDIERA, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :00
• 122. Wenhui BI, MSS, at :00
• 123. Anuar MANAN, TSG, at :00
• 124. Lukas JAUN, TEAM ROTH, at :00
• 125. Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00
• 126. Mansoor ALI SHAMBIH, SKD, at :00
• 127. Dominic PEREZ, 7ES, at :00
• 128. Nur Aiman ZARIFF, MAS, at :00
• 129. Wan Yau LAU, HKS, at :00
• 130. Arin ISWANA, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :00
• 131. Hiu Fung CHOY, HKS, at 20:48
• 132. Ruslan TLEUBAYEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00

General classification

• 1. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, in 4:15:47
• 2. Meiyin WANG, HEN, at :02
• 3. Muhamad Adiq Husainie OTHMAN, TSG, at :03
• 4. Brenton JONES, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :04
• 5. Andrea PALINI, SKD, at :06
• 6. Meher HASNAOUI, SKD, at :08
• 7. John MURPHY, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 8. Dylan PAGE, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 9. Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF, at :10
• 10. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
• 11. Shimpei FUKUDA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :10
• 12. Marco BENFATTO, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :10
• 13. Mohd Harrif SALEH, TSG, at :10
• 14. Paolo SIMION, BARDIANI CSF, at :10
• 15. Nicola RUFFONI, BARDIANI CSF, at :10
• 16. Hyeonseok KIM, KSPO, at :10
• 17. Siu Wai KO, HKS, at :10
• 18. Jakub MARECZKO, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :10
• 19. Graeme BROWN, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :10
• 20. Karol DOMAGALSKI, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :10
• 21. Mirco MAESTRI, BARDIANI CSF, at :10
• 22. George HARPER, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :10
• 23. Kangeun JOO, KSPO, at :10
• 24. Patria RASTRA, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 25. Marcelo FELIPE, 7ES, at :10
• 26. Daniel Alexander JARAMILLO DIEZ, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 27. Nur Amirul Fakhruddin MARZUKI, TSG, at :10
• 28. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :10
• 29. Jesper HANSEN, TINKOFF, at :10
• 30. Lachlan NORRIS, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :10
• 31. Matthew Harley GOSS, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :10
• 32. Sung Baek PARK, KSPO, at :10
• 33. Jaco VENTER, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
• 34. Novardianto JAMALIDIN, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 35. Zhang ZHENG, HEN, at :10
• 36. Colin STÜSSI, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 37. Carlos Alexandre MANARELLI, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :10
• 38. Mohd Fauzan AHMAD LUTFI, MAS, at :10
• 39. Janez BRAJKOVIC, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 40. Gavin MANNION, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :10
• 41. Murad TAREK OBAID, SKD, at :10
• 42. Miguel Angel LOPEZ MORENO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :10
• 43. Valentin BAILLIFARD, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 44. Mohd Azri AHMAD, MAS, at :10
• 45. Francisco MANCEBO PEREZ, SKD, at :10
• 46. Songezo JIM, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
• 47. Teten ROHENDI, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 48. Adrien NIYONSHUTI, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
• 49. Xiaolong SUN, MSS, at :10
• 50. Zhao JINGBIAO, HEN, at :10
• 51. Erik BASKA, TINKOFF, at :10
• 52. Andrea DAL COL, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :10
• 53. Giulio CICCONE, BARDIANI CSF, at :10
• 54. Tanner PUTT, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 55. Luca CHIRICO, BARDIANI CSF, at :10
• 56. Tomohiro HAYAKAWA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :10
• 57. Alberto NARDIN, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :10
• 58. Masakazu ITO, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :10
• 59. Meng YAN, HEN, at :10
• 60. Francesco CHICCHI, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :10
• 61. Yoshimitsu HIRATSUKA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :10
• 62. Sofian Nabil MOHD BAKRI, NSC, at :10
• 63. Joon Yong SEO, KSPO, at :10
• 64. Ivan SANTAROMITA, SKD, at :10
• 65. Samuele CONTI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :10
• 66. Kun-Soo KIM, KSPO, at :10
• 67. Ryan MACANALLY, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 68. Irwandie LAKASEK, NSC, at :10
• 69. Roland THALMANN, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 70. Luca PACIONI, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :10
• 71. Richard HANDLEY, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :10
• 72. Francisco CHAMORRO, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :10
• 73. Ma GUANGTONG, HEN, at :10
• 74. Wenlong ZHANG, MSS, at :10
• 75. John Bohn EBSEN, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :10
• 76. Michael GOGL, TINKOFF, at :10
• 77. Antonio PIEDRA PEREZ, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :10
• 78. Evgeny PETROV, TINKOFF, at :10
• 79. Baler RAVINA, 7ES, at :10
• 80. Julen AMEZQUETA, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :10
• 81. Simone STERBINI, BARDIANI CSF, at :10
• 82. Azman ZULKIFLI MOHD, MAS, at :10
• 83. James ORAM, ONE PRO CYCLING, at :10
• 84. Amir RUSLI, MAS, at :10
• 85. Burr HO, HKS, at :10
• 86. Edgar NOHALES NIETO, 7ES, at :10
• 87. Muhamad Zawawi AZMAN, NSC, at :10
• 88. Tomas Aurelio GIL MARTINEZ, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :10
• 89. Ka Hoo Fung, HKS, at :10
• 90. Ho San CHIU, HKS, at :10
• 91. Nick DOUGALL, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
• 92. Tiziano DALL’ANTONIA, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :10
• 93. Jesse James EWART, 7ES, at :10
• 94. Choon Huat GOH, TSG, at :10
• 95. Otavio DIDIER BULGARELLI, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :10
• 96. Hyo Suk GONG, KSPO, at :10
• 97. Giuseppe FONZI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :10
• 98. Agung SAHBANA, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 99. Li Jun BAI, MSS, at :10
• 100. Jianpeng LIU, HEN, at :10
• 101. Johann VAN ZYL, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
• 102. Mark John Lexer GALEDO, 7ES, at :10
• 103. Mohd Nazri MUHAMAD, NSC, at :10
• 104. João GASPAR, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at :10
• 105. Ahmad Muazzam Iman MUSTAFA KAMAL, NSC, at :10
• 106. Jonathan CLARKE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 107. Thomas SCULLY, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at :10
• 108. Dias OMIRZAKOV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :10
• 109. Ya Ke HOU, MSS, at :10
• 110. Tristan MARGUET, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 111. Shiki KUROEDA, AISAN RACING TEAM, at :10
• 112. Mohd Shahrul MAT AMIN, TSG, at :10
• 113. Afiq Huznie OTHMAN, NSC, at :10
• 114. Marco BANDIERA, ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC, at :10
• 115. Wenhui BI, MSS, at :10
• 116. Anuar MANAN, TSG, at :10
• 117. Lukas JAUN, TEAM ROTH, at :10
• 118. Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :10
• 119. Mansoor ALI SHAMBIH, SKD, at :10
• 120. Dominic PEREZ, 7ES, at :10
• 121. Nur Aiman ZARIFF, MAS, at :10
• 122. Wan Yau LAU, HKS, at :10
• 123. Arin ISWANA, PEGASUS CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM, at :10
• 124. Ruslan TLEUBAYEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :10
• 125. Juraj SAGAN, TINKOFF, at 1:08
• 126. Pablo URTASUN PEREZ, FUNVIC SOUL CYCLES – CARREFOUR, at 1:10
• 127. Takeaki AYABE, AISAN RACING TEAM, at 1:18
• 128. Jens MOURIS, DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING, at 1:30
• 129. Fuwen XUE, MSS, at 1:30
• 130. Tyler MAGNER, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 1:48
• 131. Sea Keong LOH, MAS, at 2:04
• 132. Hiu Fung CHOY, HKS, at 20:58