Le Tour de Langkawi: Caleb Ewan secures third stage victory in style

Australian rider, Caleb Ewan of Orica GreenEdge pulled off a pleasant suprise after clinching the third stage of the 2015 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) involving a 170km distance from Gerik to Tanah Merah,here, on Tuesday.

The result saw the 20-year old New South Wales-native take over the Yellow Jersey as overall leader and also the Blue Jersey as the King of Sprint from Kazakhstan's Astana Pro Team rider, Andrea Guardini of Italy.

On Tuesday's race, Ewan made a bold move by joining a breakaway group in the second climb zone at the Titiwangsa Range which is 1,006 metres above sea level before sprinting to the finishing line to clock 4 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds with a bunch of riders.

On his victory, the nippy Australian regarded it was the toughest race so far as he had to deal with most challenging sharp turns and also the height at Titiwangsa.

"The riders today's (Tuesday) gave me a strong fight until the end.A bunch of riders attacking us (Orica GreenEdge riders) but all of us stayed cool and finally we manage to secure victory," he told reporters after the race.

"It's really awesome to ges a win. All my teammates were very unbelievable today (Tuesday)," he quipped.

Ewan also remains optimistic of holding on to both jerseys in today's fourth stage involving a 165.4km distance from Kota Bharu to Kuala Berang as the riders have to deal with the scorching heat since the opening stage on Sunday in Langkawi.

Meanwhile, China's Zhang Wenlong of Giant-Champion System Pro was suprised after taking over the white jersey as the Asian best rider from Mohd Adiq Husainie Othman of Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG).

"I don't wants to think too much whether I will able to retain the white jersey for the next race as I'm focused on one race at a time.

"My main concern definitely is the uncertain weather conditions but hopefully, I can keep my focus until the end of the race," Zhang added.

National rider, Mohd Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil emerged as the best Malaysian rider after finishing in 47th place out of 128 riders.

On Wednesday, all 131 riders will face three sprint zones, at Pasir Puteh, Jertih and Permaisuri beside a climb zone at Sungai Tong in the fourth stage of the LTdL.