LANGKAWI: Colombian rider Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo clinched the yellow jersey as the overall champion of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2022 here today.
Competing in the eighth and final stage of the race, covering a distance of 115.9 kilometres (km), the Movistar Team rider made sure of the coveted yellow jersey with a 23-second advantage over EF Education-EasyPost rider Hugh John Carthy.
Sosa, thus, becomes the first Colombian and South American LTdL winner since his compatriot Julian David Arredondo (Team Nippo-De Rosa) managed the feat in 2013.
“Today’s race was very fast and we had difficulty keeping up with the leading pack but we finally managed to get the desired result.
“It is a good ending for me this season because it increases my confidence for next season,” he said.
Earlier, during Stage 8 of the LTdL around Pulau Langkawi, Burgos-BH rider Alexander Molenaar came out tops in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 37 seconds (s), followed by Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jason Osborne and UAE Team Emirates’ Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides.
There was double delight for the Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team (TSG) when Muhammad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff took the red jersey (King of the Mountain) with 29 points and teammate Jambaljamts Sainbayar the white jersey (Best Asian Rider).
The green jersey (Sprint King) went to Stage 6 winner Erlend Blikra of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team with 49 points. – Bernama