KHOTA BARU, Malaysia—One bold move and one big leap for Felipe Marcelo.
Marcelo topped Stage Two’s first King of the Mountain (KOM) classification, and wound up a tad second in another to contend not only as the 2018 Le Tour de Langkawi’s strongest climber but also in the general classification (GC) of the race that abruptly changed in complexion on Monday.
Marcelo, the best bet on the 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines team to contend for the Best Asian Rider trophy, also took the first intermediate sprint to make his presence felt in the Southeast Asian region’s most prestigious race now running its 23rd edition.
When no one was looking and erstwhile leader Italian Andrea Guardiani (Bardiani CSF) riding miserably in the first difficult route of the eight-stage race, Marcelo slipped to the front when route turned hilly in the first 12 kilometers, towing along three others who were all after one prize—the KOM.
“The moment I saw a break, I went for it,” said Marcelo, whose climbing skills have sent shivers to the field now down by four to 127 cyclists that he has become a marked man.
The first KOM, a Category 4, was easy for the pride of Llanera in Nueva Ecija to muster. The second, a Category 1 over 1,050 meters, again looked conquerable for the 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines skipper.
But a miscalculation in the sprint gave line honors to Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Manzana Postobon), one of nine Colombians racing in th 23rd edition of the International Cycling Union 2.Hors Category event organized by Ciclista Sports with the full support of the Malaysia Ministry of Youth and Sports
“I jumped too early,” said Marcelo, who now ranked second in the overall KOM classification with 18 points, one point behind Arango and seven ahead of Muhammad Abdurrohman (KFC).
That bold move in the mountains just across Malaysia’s border with Thailand kicked Marcelo upstairs to the top 10 of the GC.
In the postrace news conference, Arango acknowledged the Filipino’s climbing skills and gave himself a warning.
“I’ll be watching out for him [Marcelo],” the Columbian said.
Marcelo finished in a bunch with the same time of five hours, 18 minutes and 20 seconds in the 208.30-km race with stage winner Riccardo Minali of the top tier UCI WorldTour team Astana.
That was enough for Marcelo to jump to No. 8 in the GC, eight seconds off Minali, who snatched the leader’s yellow jersey worn only for a day by Guardiani. A 22-time stage winner in the race, Guardiani dropped behind after the first climb and never stayed in the fight the rest of the way.
It was another hot and humid day of racing, with the other 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines falling behind in the peloton and in the big second group, no thanks to the anxiousness of the top guns to catch the leaders.
“I just followed the team strategy—for me to attack in the mountains,” said Marcelo, who crossed with the bunch that included teammates Bonjoe Martin and first-time Langkawi campaigners Rustom Lim and Daniel Ven Carino.
Dominic Carpio and Arjay Peralta were trapped in the big group with Guardiani that crossed 13 minutes later.
“The pace was too fast,” said Lim, the 2011 Asian juniors road race champion who is in his first Langkawi race but a veteran international campaigner as a member of the national team.
“It was a missed opportunity but it’s okay because Felipe is right where we want him to be,” 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines Sports Director Ric Rodriguez said. “The plan was for our boys, especially Felipe, to make their move today—and they did.”
But Marcelo would have to wait a day to again zero in on the polka dot jersey.
“He will have his second chance tomorrow, and we in the team are sure he will make another bold move,” 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines co-team principal Bong Sual said.
7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines fell one rung down in the team GC—26:22:12 behind leader Androni Giocattoli-Sidermic—and also in the Asian category, but with the same clocking as frontrunner Terrenganu Cycling Team.
Tuesday’s Stage Three will be shorter at 166 kms to Kuala Terengganu and will feature three intermediate sprints. The KOM race will resume in Stage Three on Wednesday.
The race ends on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.