Kuching—Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Fedorov emerged on top in a tight battle against Thailand’s Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn in the last kilometer on Friday to win the first stage of the 25th Petronas Tour de Langkawi.
The 19-year-old talent of Vino Astana Motors had to outpace the veteran rider of Thailand Continental Cycling Team for almost half of time, before finally shaking his Thai rival in the closing lap of the 85-km competition.
“I rode away and I was happy to get some help from the rider (Boonratanathanakorn) from Thailand,” said Fedorov. “We went full gas, I am very happy with this win.”
Fedorov broke away from the peloton at the 28-kilometer mark, with Boonratanathanakorn soon sticking close to him at 30-km mark.
The two remained in a tug of war before Fedorov ran free in the last lap, securing his win.
Fedorov set a time of 1:51:01 for 15 points in the stage individual classification, securing the gold, green and white jerseys, while his team Vino Astana Motors led the team general classification with 5:30:40.
Boonratanathanakorn clocked in at 1:51:04 at second spot, while his team Thailand Continental Cycling team timed 5:35:46.
Turkish Ahmet Orken of the Malaysian Team Sapura Cycling bagged third place with his 1:52:18 from the bunched sprint.
“This is my first race for a non-Turkish team and I’m very happy for a third-place win,” said Orken.
The red jersey, sponsored by Resorts World Genting, was given to Bardiani CSF Faizane’s Matteo Pelucchi.
Today’s second stage is a 175.5-km stretch from Kuala Terengganu to Kerteh.