Le Tour de Langkawi 2008 - Stage 5
Alberto Loddo Weighs in - with a win for Tinkoff Credit Systems. Sprinters battle continues as the Green Jersey changes hands.  Photos

Alberto Loddo wins!

Stage 5 - Johor Bahru - Bandar Penawar 139.9 km
The battle of the sprinters continued in stage 5 today with Alberto Loddo of Tinkoff Credit systems adding to his stage victories. Alberto had the fastest legs in the mass finish with Argentine Mauro Richeze of CSF Group/Navigare second and Swiss sprinter Aurelien Clerc of Bouygues Telecom finishing third. Clerc displaced Anuar Manan as the green jersey wearer as Anuar faltered at the finish in sixth place.

The win for Loddo on the rolling stage was a sort of reply from the Italian following Danilo Hondo's win in Stage Four yesterday and where after today, the score stood at one stage win each for the prolific sprinters.

Alberto Lodo celebrates! Clerc to his right takes green. Photo © 2008 Action Images

Loddo admitted after the 139.9km stage that he was desperate for a stage victory considering that his Tinkoff mates had been working hard for a bunch sprint over the last few days.

Alberto Loddo and the Tinkoff Credit Systems Squad at the team presentations.    Photo © 2008 Action Images

"The team worked hard the last few days but had nothing to show for it but today everything went well (in the race which was completed in three hours seven minutes and 53 seconds)," said Loddo, who took five stages of Le Tour de Langkawi last year.

Alberto Loddo receives a congratulatory hug from one of his support staff. Photo © 2008 Action Images

"(Serguei) Klimov did well in the front and at the 400meter mark I was all alone and at 300m, I moved from the left to the right to win quite easily. Winning here (in Le Tour de Langkawi) is harder than in Qatar because you need not only strength but also luck. In Qatar, if you have a strong team, you can win."

For Anuar, the day must have been a major disappointment after being in the green jersey for the last two days of the race only to give it up to Clerc from Bouygues Telecom. The two sprinters battled for points throughout the stage with Clerc taking the first intermediate sprint in Ulu Tiram before Anuar fought back to take Sprint Two in Kota Tinggi.

An ill fated early attack on stage 5. Photo © 2008 Action Images

But with Clerc having taken second spot behind Anuar in Kota Tinggi, the Frenchman holds a one-point advantage over the Malaysian lad and which he then extended further to seven points after he finished third on the stage.

"The first two sprints were important for us and we took it as the race has been very unpredictable and we do not know what will happen at the end," added Clerc. "We have to play it smart although the important is that we protect Matthiue (Sprick in the yellow) for the overall General Classification."

Sprick, who suffered yet another puncture on the day following the two he sustained yesterday, is still a second ahead of Mitchell Docker (Drapac Porsche) in the GC while Japan's Shinichi Fukushima (Meitan Hompo) maintains a two-second advantage over Park Sung Baek (Seoul Cycling) in the fight for Asia's Blue jersey.

The fast pace strings out  the peloton.  Photo © 2008 Action Images

The battle for the sprinters jersey will continue tomorrow in what appears to be a 4 man battle with Clerc (54 points) leading Manan by 7 points, and Alberto Loddo in third lagging at 17 points off Clerc and followed by Seoul Cycling Baek Sung Park 3 points behind the green jersey.

The battle for the G.C. looks to be among the top 20 riders separated by a mere 12 seconds and the rest of the competitors separated by 20 minutes or more. The final G.C. leader will no doubt decided on the summit finish in Stage 8 Temerloh - Bukit Fraser (127km) after the 30km climb up the Hors Category Fraser Hill.

Stage 6 - Bandar Penawar to Kuala Rompin - 182.8km
Another long day in the saddle for the riders tomorrow with a Cat 4 climb coming at 76 kms with the rest a rolling affair that should see a sprinters battle at the finish after a the final flat ride on the coastal plain.

Felda Pulai is the first sprint of the day before the climb at 23km, and two more coming in Mersing (102 km) the main ferry point for trips to the island resort of Tioman; and Endau (156 km) which may be the last opportunity for attacks in the third longest stage of the tour.

Stage 5 Podium: Alberto Loddo (Tinkoff Credit Systems) Stage 5 winner, Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) race leader, team mate Aurlien Clerc (Bouygues Telecom) points leader, and Top Asian Rider Shinichi Fukushima (Meitan Hompo GDR) Photo © 2008 Action Images

Leading Asian Riders
1: Fukushima,Shinichi (Meitan Hompo - GDR)
2: Park,Sung Baek (Seoul Cycling)
3: Nodera,Hidenori (Skil - Shimano)

Bouygues Telecom mates Sprick and Clerc on the podium a good start for the season with the leaders and sprints jersey. Photo © 2008 Action Images

Points Jersey
1: Clerc,Aurlien (Bouygues Telecom) 54
2: Manan,Anuar (Letua Cycling Team) 47
3: Loddo,Alberto (Tinkoff Credit Systems) 37
4 Sung Baek Park (Seoul Cycling) 34
5 Mauro Richeze (CSF Group-Navigare ) 28
6 Corsini,M NGC 26
7 Hondo,D SDA 24
8 Docker,M DPC 24
9 Hinault,S C.A 24
10 Hoffman,N RSA 24

Best Climber - Raja Bukit

Le Tour de Langkawi - Stage 5 Results
Johor Bahru - Bandar Penawar
139.90 km / 87.00 Miles - 44.68 kph / 27.78 mph
1 43 ITA Loddo,Alberto TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 3h07'53"
2 83 ARG Richeze,Mauro Abel CSF CSF Group-Navigare 3h07'53"
3 63 SUI Clerc,Aurlien BTL Bouygues Telecom 3h07'53"
4 144 JPN Miyazawa,Takashi EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 3h07'53"
5 191 KOR Park,Sung Baek SCT Seoul Cycling 3h07'53"
6 172 MAS Manan,Anuar L2A Letua Cycling Team 3h07'53"
7 204 MAS Salleh,Mohd Hariff MCF MNCF Cycling Team 3h07'53"
8 145 JPN Shimizu,Miyataka EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 3h07'53"
9 112 ITA Corsini,Marco NGC NGC Medical - OTC 3h07'53"
10 171 MAS Anuawar,Ahmad Haidar L2A Letua Cycling Team 3h07'53"
11 192 KOR Park,Seon Ho SCT Seoul Cycling 3h07'53"
12 25 RSA Hoffman,Nolan RSA South African N.T. 3h07'53"
13 2 FRA Hinault,Sebastien C.A Credit Agricole 3h07'53"
14 71 BLR Usov,Alexandre ALM AG2R La Mondiale 3h07'53"
15 152 RUS Kudentsov,Sergey MPC Trek Marco Polo 3h07'53"
16 111 ITA Rossi,Enrico NGC NGC Medical - OTC 3h07'53"
17 163 IRI Maleki,Mizan Hassan IAU Islamic Azad University 3h07'53"
18 132 AUS Dempster,Zakkari SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 3h07'53"
19 231 HKG Chan,Chun Hing HKG Hong Kong N.T. 3h07'53"
20 136 AUS Walker,Johnnie SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 3h07'53"

General Classification after Stage 5
860.60 kms / 535.16 miles - 44.86 kph / 27.90 mph
1 65 FRA Sprick,Matthieu BTL Bouygues Telecom 19h12'05"
2 213 AUS Docker,Mitchell DPC Drapac Porsche 19h12'06" @01"
3 92 ESP Cesar,Gustavo KGZ Karpin Galicia 19h12'08" @03"
4 114 ITA Nosotti,Diego NGC NGC Medical - OTC 19h12'09" @04"
5 173 AUS Sulzberger,Bernard L2A Letua Cycling Team 19h12'11" @06"
6 16 VEN Rodriguez,Jackson SDA Serramenti PVC 19h12'12" @07"
7 101 AUS Wilson,Matt TT1 Team Type 1 19h12'12" s/t
8 221 NZL Yates,Jeremy NZL New Zealand N.T. 19h12'12" s/t
9 143 JPN Fukushima,Shinichi EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 19h12'13" @08"
10 191 KOR Park,Sung Baek SCT Seoul Cycling 19h12'15" @10"
11 4 FRA Marino,Jean-Marc C.A Credit Agricole 19h12'16" @11"
12 132 AUS Dempster,Zakkari SAI SouthAustralia.Com/AIS 19h12'17" @12"
13 51 JPN Nodera,Hidenori SKS Skil - Shimano 19h12'18" @13"
14 14 MDA Ivanov,Ruslan SDA Serramenti PVC 19h12'18" s/t
15 45 BLR Sobal,Yauhen TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 19h12'18" s/t
16 104 NZL Chadwick,Glen TT1 Team Type 1 19h12'18" s/t
17 21 RSA McCleod,Ian RSA South African N.T. 19h12'18" s/t
18 33 GBR Coutts,Alex GNT Giant Asia Racing Team 19h12'18" s/t
19 52 JPN Kano,Tomoya SKS Skil - Shimano 19h12'18" s/t

20 172 MAS Manan,Anuar L2A Letua Cycling Team 19h33'55" @21'50"
21 244 MAS Nur Misbah,Mohd Rauf MAS Malaysia N.T. 19h34'03" @21'58"
22 194 KOR Lee,Won Jae SCT Seoul Cycling 19h34'07" @22'02"
23 142 JPN Fukushima,Koji EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 19h34'16" @22'11"
24 242 MAS Ahmad Lutfi,M. Fauzan MAS Malaysia N.T. 19h34'18" @22'13"
25 63 SUI Clerc,Aurlien BTL Bouygues Telecom 19h35'04" @22'59"
26 12 GER Hondo,Danilo SDA Serramenti PVC 19h35'07" @23'02"
27 43 ITA Loddo,Alberto TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 19h35'08" @23'03"
28 3 GBR Hunt,Jeremy C.A Credit Agricole 19h35'10" @23'05"
29 83 ARG Richeze,Mauro Abel CSF CSF Group-Navigare 19h35'14" @23'09"
30 86 ITA Priamo,Matteo CSF CSF Group-Navigare 19h35'14" s/t
31 211 AUS Shaw,Stuart DPC Drapac Porsche 19h35'17" @23'12"
32 204 MAS Salleh,Mohd Hariff MCF MNCF Cycling Team 19h35'18" @23'13"
33 231 HKG Chan,Chun Hing HKG Hong Kong N.T. 19h35'18" s/t
34 144 JPN Miyazawa,Takashi EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 19h35'18" s/t
35 245 MAS Abd Razak,Mohd Faris MAS Malaysia N.T. 19h35'18" s/t
36 171 MAS Anuawar,Ahmad Haidar L2A Letua Cycling Team 19h35'18" s/t
37 234 HKG Tang,Wang Yip HKG Hong Kong N.T. 19h35'18" s/t
38 192 KOR Park,Seon Ho SCT Seoul Cycling 19h35'18" s/t
39 36 TPE Peng,Kuei Hsiang GNT Giant Asia Racing Team 19h35'18" s/t
40 46 RUS Trusov,Nikolay TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 19h35'18" s/t
41 103 AUS Calabria,Fabio TT1 Team Type 1 19h35'18" s/t
42 174 MAS M. Zahit,Mohd Sayuti L2A Letua Cycling Team 19h35'18" s/t
43 206 MAS Mustarudin,M. Zamani MCF MNCF Cycling Team 19h35'18" s/t
44 17 ITA Bertolini,Denis SDA Serramenti PVC 19h35'18" s/t
45 124 GER Meschenmoser,Chris. ITA Team Ista 19h35'18" s/t
46 54 JPN Hatanaka,Yusuke SKS Skil - Shimano 19h35'18" s/t
47 105 MEX Aldape,Moises TT1 Team Type 1 19h35'20" @23'15"
48 166 IRI Salehian,Farshad IAU Islamic Azad University 19h35'20" s/t
49 161 IRI Saeidi,Tanha Abbass IAU Islamic Azad University 19h35'20" s/t
50 2 FRA Hinault,Sebastien C.A Credit Agricole 19h35'22" @23'17"
51 112 ITA Corsini,Marco NGC NGC Medical - OTC 19h35'22" s/t
52 44 COL Pedraza,Walter TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 19h35'23" @23'18"
53 61 FRA Claude,Mathieu BTL Bouygues Telecom 19h35'23" s/t
54 22 RSA George,David RSA South African N.T. 19h35'23" s/t
55 111 ITA Rossi,Enrico NGC NGC Medical - OTC 19h35'24" @23'19"
56 25 RSA Hoffman,Nolan RSA South African N.T. 19h35'26" @23'21"
57 243 MAS Saleh,Mohd Zamri MAS Malaysia N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
58 94 ESP Mouron,Juan KGZ Karpin Galicia 19h35'26" s/t
59 152 RUS Kudentsov,Sergey MPC Trek Marco Polo 19h35'26" s/t
60 246 MAS Daud,M. Firdaus MAS Malaysia N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
61 115 SUI Trafelet,Stefan NGC NGC Medical - OTC 19h35'26" s/t
62 163 IRI Maleki,Mizan Hassan IAU Islamic Azad University 19h35'26" s/t
63 235 HKG Ko,Siu Wai HKG Hong Kong N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
64 102 AUS Brooks,Ben TT1 Team Type 1 19h35'26" s/t
65 95 ESP Paleo,Alejandro KGZ Karpin Galicia 19h35'26" s/t
66 71 BLR Usov,Alexandre ALM AG2R La Mondiale 19h35'26" s/t
67 185 COL Lopez,Vladimir PSN Polygon Sweet Nice 19h35'26" s/t
68 184 INA Jaya,Herwin PSN Polygon Sweet Nice 19h35'26" s/t
69 232 HKG Wu,Kin San HKG Hong Kong N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
70 226 NZL Chapman,Joseph NZL New Zealand N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
71 34 NAM Hoffmann,Erik GNT Giant Asia Racing Team 19h35'26" s/t
72 165 IRI Sohrabi,Mehdi IAU Islamic Azad University 19h35'26" s/t
73 96 RUS Isaychev,Vladimir KGZ Karpin Galicia 19h35'26" s/t
74 123 GER Lehmann,Jorg ITA Team Ista 19h35'26" s/t
75 193 KOR Gong,Hyo Suk SCT Seoul Cycling 19h35'26" s/t
76 26 RSA Van Niekerk,Dennis RSA South African N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
77 195 KOR Yoo,Ki Hong SCT Seoul Cycling 19h35'26" s/t
78 76 BEL Vandenbergh,Stijn ALM AG2R La Mondiale 19h35'26" s/t
79 91 ESP Garcia,David KGZ Karpin Galicia 19h35'26" s/t
80 24 RSA Venter,Jacobus RSA South African N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
81 136 AUS Walker,Johnnie SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 19h35'26" s/t
82 146 MAS Ng,Yong Li EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 19h35'26" s/t
83 186 INA Santoso,Budi PSN Polygon Sweet Nice 19h35'26" s/t
84 93 ESP Troncoso,Ramon KGZ Karpin Galicia 19h35'26" s/t
85 196 KOR Kim,Gu Hyeon SCT Seoul Cycling 19h35'26" s/t
86 11 COL Serpa Perez,Jose SDA Serramenti PVC 19h35'26" s/t
87 225 NZL Lyttle,Scott NZL New Zealand N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
88 202 MAS Ruslan,Mohd Jasmin MCF MNCF Cycling Team 19h35'26" s/t
89 113 ITA Maisto,Massimiliano NGC NGC Medical - OTC 19h35'26" s/t
90 35 TPE Lai,Kuan Hua GNT Giant Asia Racing Team 19h35'26" s/t
91 121 GER Hofbauer,Rolf ITA Team Ista 19h35'26" s/t
92 73 FRA Pineau,Cedric ALM AG2R La Mondiale 19h35'26" s/t
93 72 EST Kangert,Tanel ALM AG2R La Mondiale 19h35'26" s/t
94 55 JPN Abe,Yoshiyuki SKS Skil - Shimano 19h35'26" s/t
95 153 CHN Li,Fuyu MPC Trek Marco Polo 19h35'26" s/t
96 75 FRA Sonnery,Blaise ALM AG2R La Mondiale 19h35'26" s/t
97 224 NZL Kerr,Justin NZL New Zealand N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
98 41 RUS Brutt,Pavel TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 19h35'26" s/t
99 15 VEN Ochoa,Carlos Jos SDA Serramenti PVC 19h35'26" s/t
100 214 AUS Williams,Robert DPC Drapac Porsche 19h35'26" s/t
101 126 GER Schwarz,Nikolai ITA Team Ista 19h35'26" s/t
102 74 FRA Senac,Jean-Charles ALM AG2R La Mondiale 19h35'26" s/t
103 5 FRA Mederel,Maxime C.A Credit Agricole 19h35'26" s/t
104 156 JPN Onodera,Ken MPC Trek Marco Polo 19h35'26" s/t
105 151 AUS Crawford,Jai MPC Trek Marco Polo 19h35'26" s/t
106 134 AUS King,Benjamin SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 19h35'26" s/t
107 23 RSA Woolcock,Waylon RSA South African N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
108 203 MAS Aziz,Mohd Saiful Anuar MCF MNCF Cycling Team 19h35'26" s/t
109 201 MAS Rusli,Amir Mustafa MCF MNCF Cycling Team 19h35'26" s/t
110 42 RUS Klimov,Serguei TCS Tinkoff Credit Systems 19h35'26" s/t
111 223 NZL Whitehead,Ashley NZL New Zealand N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
112 135 AUS Sulzberger,Wesley SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 19h35'26" s/t
113 222 NZL Odlin,Paul NZL New Zealand N.T. 19h35'26" s/t
114 183 KAZ Dyadichkin,Vyacheslav PSN Polygon Sweet Nice 19h35'26" s/t
115 162 IRI Zargari,Amir IAU Islamic Azad University 19h35'26" s/t
116 131 AUS Clarke,Simon SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 19h35'26" s/t
117 164 IRI Fahridi,Kovij Mehdi IAU Islamic Azad University 19h35'26" s/t
118 66 SUI Tschopp,Johann BTL Bouygues Telecom 19h35'26" s/t
119 216 AUS O'Brien,Mark DPC Drapac Porsche 19h35'26" s/t
120 181 INA Fitrianto,Hari PSN Polygon Sweet Nice 19h35'26" s/t
121 175 INA Susanto,Tonton L2A Letua Cycling Team 19h35'26" s/t
122 1 AUS Gerrans,Simon C.A Credit Agricole 19h35'43" @23'38"
123 241 MAS Hassan,Suhardi MAS Malaysia N.T. 19h35'45" @23'40"
124 212 AUS McDonald,Peter DPC Drapac Porsche 19h35'45" s/t
125 141 JPN Arashiro,Yukiya EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 19h35'46" @23'41"
126 53 JPN Hirose,Yoshimasa SKS Skil - Shimano 19h35'48" @23'43"
127 182 INA Pahlavi,Abdullah Rizza PSN Polygon Sweet Nice 19h35'49" @23'44"
128 155 MAS Loh,Sea Keong MPC Trek Marco Polo 19h36'02" @23'57"
129 85 ITA Tomei,Francesco CSF CSF Group-Navigare 19h36'12" @24'07"
130 176 INA Arihan,Ryan L2A Letua Cycling Team 19h36'29" @24'24"
131 215 AUS Bates,Gene DPC Drapac Porsche 19h36'35" @24'30"
132 6 IRL Roche,Nicolas C.A Credit Agricole 19h38'30" @26'25"
133 31 GER Loffler,Stefan GNT Giant Asia Racing Team 19h38'30" s/t
134 64 FRA Martias,Rony BTL Bouygues Telecom 19h38'57" @26'52"
135 84 ITA Savini,Filippo CSF CSF Group-Navigare 19h39'04" @26'59"
136 62 NED Clement,Stef BTL Bouygues Telecom 19h40'03" @27'58"
137 133 AUS Ford,William SAI SouthAustralia.Com - AIS 19h40'42" @28'37"
138 106 USA MacGregor,Ian TT1 Team Type 1 19h40'44" @28'39"
139 145 JPN Shimizu,Miyataka EQA Meitan Hompo - GDR 19h43'16" @31'11"
140 154 CHN Xing,Yan Dong MPC Trek Marco Polo 19h51'27" @39'22"
141 122 GER Keinath,Nico ITA Team Ista 19h56'00" @43'55"

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