Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) sprinted to victory during today’s 5th stage of the Tour de Langkawi. Jakub Mareczko (Willier Triestina) finished in 2nd place and Travis McCabe (United Healthcare) was 3rd.
The 5th stage of the Tour de Langkawi took riders on a 151km journey from Meru Reya to Kuala Kubu Bharu. It was a fast start with multiple attacks in the opening 50km and eventually 1 rider was allowed to go clear.
There was 3 bonus sprints out on course where race leader Ryan Gibbons was able to extend his overall lead by 2 seconds. With just 1 rider up the road, Dimension Data was able to control the race comfortably all stage.
It was then a frantic race to a sprint finale, one which suited Gibbons characteristics as the rough bricked surface and gentle rise to the line was tailored for a strong sprinter. The young South African kicked for the line around 200m to go and left the others behind. With just more than a bike’s length lead, Gibbons was able to throw his hands in the air to celebrate the first professional victory of his career.
Ryan Gibbons now has a good lead on the overall GC.
“I am absolutely thrilled. I am so happy I could repay my team for all their hard work and also just so happy I could get off the mark with my first professional win”, said Ryan Gibbons. “Hopefully it is the start of something great. The first priority was to keep yellow today but I got a few points during the sprints out on the road which brought me the Teal jersey as well. From 10km to go, it was all systems go for a sprint and I am so happy I could pull it off. The start of the race was really busy, nobody wanted to let a break go but our guys were special, covering anything too dangerous. Eventually we could let 1 guy go and then Jacques Janse van Rensburg and Adrien Niyonshuti controlled the race all day, these guys are fantastic.”
Tour de Langkawi 2017 – stage 5 results (Meru Raya – Kuala Kubu Bharu):
| 1 | Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) | 3:27:20 |
| 2 | Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina) | ,, |
| 3 | Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthCare) | ,, |
| 4 | Riccardo Stacchiotti (Nippo – Vini Fantini) | ,, |
| 5 | Anthony Giacoppo (Isowhey Sports Swisswellness) | ,, |
| 6 | Mohd Zamri Saleh (Terengganu) | ,, |
| 7 | Marco Maronese (Bardiani CSF) | ,, |
| 8 | Shiki Kuroeda (Aisan Racing Team) | ,, |
| 9 | M. Izzat Hilmi Abd Halil (Sapura Cycling Team) | ,, |
| 10 | Enrico Barbin (Bardiani CSF) | ,, |
General classification after stage 5:
| 1 | Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) | 18:53:06 |
| 2 | Cameron Bayly (Isowhey Sports Swisswellness) | +23” |
| 3 | Alberto Cecchin (Wilier Triestina) | +27” |
| 4 | Yevgeniy Gidich (Vino Astana Motors) | +29” |
| 5 | Mekseb Debesay (Dimension Data) | +32” |
| 6 | Chris Harper (Isowhey Sports Swisswellness) | +33” |
| 7 | Daniel Jaramillo (UnitedHealthCare) | ,, |
| 8 | Egan Bernal (Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec) | ,, |
| 9 | Timothy Roe (Isowhey Sports Swisswellness) | ,, |
| 10 | Ben O’Connor (Dimension Data) | ,, |
