Well I have the flu and am eating Strepsils like they are going out of fashion! Anyways a little update on yesterday, stage one of the Tour de Langkawi.
All expectations for the opening stage was for it to end in a bunch sprint, with only 100km of predominately flat terrain. Starting the stage, I was positioned near the front of the 130-rider field. Attacks were constant, and there was one which I could have easily gone with but resisted the urge. I reasoned there was no point going into the break on the first day, pushing hard and being caught by the peloton before the finish. As it happened, the break went and the big teams really ‘cooked the turkey’, so to speak.
70km from the finish, the break had an established lead of 7’30” on the main field; for a 100km stage that is a big, big, gap! Once the big ProTeams noticed the time, one or two went to the front and drove it, but on occasion would sit up and try to get another team to take over the chase. There seemed to be no real cohesion. With 16km to go, the break was still at 3’40” so we knew it was going to stay away for the win. Throughout the final few kilometers, we experienced a little bit of cross-wind which dropped a few riders out the back of the peloton. My race ended in a mass-sprint for the 5th place – the four-rider break had finished with a 1’18” lead over us – so I sat safely in the peloton on what ended up being a hot day in the saddle.
After the stage we made our way back to the hotel for showers, lunch and the inevitable pack-and-dash to leave the island of Langkawi before our two hour ferry ride and subsequent one hour drive to the next hotel which would be our temporary home before the stage two.
P.S. Le Tour de Langkawi is being broadcast on Eurosport 2, for anyone with access to that channel, plus has its own website, Twitter and Facebook, for anyone interested in following.
Enjoy the ride,
Jase
JASON CHRISTIE | 2016, 2018 New Zealand Road Cycling Champion 