Five pro teams to start Le Tour De Langkawi 2013

Five pro teams are among 22 teams set to participate in the 18th edition of the prestigious Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2013, scheduled from Feb 21 to March 2.

"Our event did not reach that number of teams representing the World Tour since 2007. Added to the quality of pro continental teams like Europcar, coming here with Pierre Rolland, we clearly have the best start list of the past decade.

"Now it's up to the cyclists to deliver the show and to riders from lower lower ranked teams to challenge the stars of the pro teams," said LTdL Chief Operating Officer Emir Abdul Jalal in a statement today.

Newcomers to LTdL will be the former Rabobank team renamed Blanco, Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Orica-GreenEdge while Garmin-Sharp and Astana will return for the second consecutive year.

"Their second back-to-back enrolment is meaningful to us. It clearly shows that they have appreciated the quality of our organisation. They have reiterated their long-term commitment to LTdL," said Emir.

The LTdL 2013 which carries the slogan 'The Heat is On' will officially begin in Kangar on Feb 21, and the race comprises 10 stages, covering a distance of 1469.7km.

The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the UCI Asia Tour calendar, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports via the National Sports Council (NSC) in association with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).

The 18th edition of the race is marked not only by its return to its legendary birthplace, but also a challenging route which features two tough climbs up Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands.