April 16, 2009 (Kuala Selangor, Malaysia) – The Jelly Belly Team is flying halfway across the world for its next race: the Jelajah Malaysia 2009. This eight day stage race will begin April 19 in Kuala Selangor and end in a criterium in Kuala Lumpur on the 26th. The riders traveling to compete are Brad Huff, Bernard van Ulden, Matty Rice, Matt Crane, Will Routley and Kiel Reijnen.

“This is one of the biggest races in Asia and we are very excited to be able to participate, with 15 other teams from all over the world,” said Team Director Danny Van Haute.

All eight stages will be from 155km to 210km, with two of the stages having CAT 1 climbs. As Malaysia is a country divided physically in two by the South China Sea, all eight days of the race will take place on Penninsular Malaysia, which is located south of Thailand.

Jelajah Malaysia, or Tour of Malaysia, is the nation’s oldest stage race, and was recently upgraded to a 2.1 by the UCI. In total, the riders will travel 1240 km and because of the variety of the stages, there will be chances for climbers and sprinters to make podium appearances.

“It will be a great way for us to get ready for the Joe Martin Stage Race from May 7 through the 10, which is on the NRC,” Van Haute said. “We are going with a well-balanced team; a few climbers and a sprinter. I feel anybody on the team right now can be on top of the podium come April 26th.”