Astana's López finishes second, Charmig fourth in Le Tour de Langkawi queen stage
Le Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia featured its key queen stage, where the riders tackled three categorized climbs over a distance of 170 km, Kazinform News Agency cites the Team's press service.
The riders of Astana Qazaqstan Team had a very active stage. On the flat section, Gleb Syritsa and Rüdiger Selig did a lot of work, while Ide Schelling and Davide Toneatti supported their teammates on the penultimate climb.
On the final climb of the day, Harold Martín López and Anthon Charmig launched an attack, managing to break away from the chasers along with British rider Max Poole. Two kilometers from the finish, the attack was neutralized, and in the sprint, López took second place, losing out to Poole. Charmig finished fourth.
“This is my first podium with Astana Qazaqstan Team, and overall, I’m happy with my result. Yes, the win was close, and I really wanted to take it, but that’s sport. Next time will be better, I’m sure. We rode a good stage as a team, the guys supported me throughout the race, and we positioned well on the penultimate climb. On the final climb, I attacked together with Anthon Charmig, and the situation was promising, but we faced a strong headwind on the descent and couldn’t build the advantage. In the sprint, I did all I could, but it wasn’t enough for the win. Nonetheless, the General Classification is still very close, and we won’t give up. We’ll keep fighting on every stage”, said Harold Martín López, currently second overall.