KUALA LUMPUR: Teams competing in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2023, which begins on Saturday (Sept 23), are beginning to feel the heat and two have already made last-minute changes to their rider lineup in a bid to switch strategies.
LTdL chief operating officer Emir Abdul Jalal said the two teams with WorldTeam status are EF Education-Easypost of the United States and Astana Qazaqstan Team of Kazakhstan.
“Astana have replaced Michelle Gazzoli with Leonardo Bassor while EF Education have named Norwegian Odd Christian Eiking to replace German Georg Steinhauser.
“Eiking was very popular in 2021 when he clinched the red jersey in seven consecutive stages at the Vuelta a Espana, from Stage 10 to Stage 16, which is an extraordinary achievement for any rider. As such, he is among the big names who will feature in this year’s LTdL,” he said recently.
Emir said although this would pose logistical problems in terms of rider management, they had no choice but to accept these late changes as the rules allow teams to do so 72 hours before the managers’ meeting is held tomorrow.
“From what I can see, this is more of a strategic move for them to put up a stiffer challenge in the LTdL. (After all) I did not hear anything about Georg Steinhauser atau Michele Gazzolo being injured,” he said.
LTdL 2023, which ends on Sept 30, will feature 132 cyclists from 22 teams with WorldTeam, ProTeam and Continental status apart from the national team.
This edition will see riders covering routes involving 11 states, with Stage 1 from Kerteh to Kuala Terengganu (184.4km); Stage 2 Kuala Terengganu-Kota Bharu (186.2 km); Stage 3 Jeli-Baling (177.1km); Stage 4 Bukit Mertajam-Meru Raya (140 km); Stage 5 Slim River-Genting Highlands (133.3km); Stage 6 Karak-Melaka (176.6km); Stage 7 Muar-Seremban 2 (125.7km) and Stage 8 Setia Alam-Kuala Lumpur (157km). -Bernama
