February 13, 2009 (Bandar Baru Bangi, Malaysia) – Colombian Jose Serpa has won Le Tour de Langkawi’s queen stage, the climb up Genting Highlands for the second time to take charge of the overall lead in the general classification on a hectic day in the hills which served up Stage Five today.

It was an expected win for Serpa, the pre-race favourite, but what wasn’t expected was the stiff challenge posed by Australia’s Jai Crawford all the way up the climb, despite a three-pronged attack by the Colombian’s Diquigiovanni-Androni Gioccatoli team, with Venezuelans Jackson Rodriguez and Carlos Jose Ochoa forming his workforce as the stage went vertical with 17 kilometres to go at the end of the 102 kilometre route that started in Petaling Jaya.

Fuji-Servetto’s Frederik Kessiakoff also posed a threat in the latter stages after being with the Diquigiovanni trio and Crawford since they were part of the decisive attack that initially comprised 11 riders, but at the finish line it was Serpa at 24 seconds ahead of Crawford, Rodriguez third a further 19 seconds behind and Kessiakoff fourth, another three seconds adrift.

The win also meant Serpa took charge of the mountains classification lead from overnight leader Jeremy Yates of the LeTua Cycling Team, as the finish line offered a hors category points award of 25 for the winner, which firmly put Serpa in the lead ahead of Crawford, who got 22 points for second. Yates is third with 16 points.

“We have three jerseys and four stage wins, so this has turned out to be a great race for us so far,” said Serpa, whose teammate Mattia Gavazzi won the opening three stages and is still in the lead of the points classification.

“Our team is strong and I have the confidence that we will be able to defend these leads until the finish on Sunday. For me, I am grateful the way it turned out this time, as even after I won the Genting stage in 2007, I had made a mistake, being asleep in the opening stages and allowed a long breakaway to go in the early stages and never managed to make up the time,” said Serpa.

The only jersey not with the Diquigiovanni team is the Asian riders’ jersey, which went to Malaysia’s LeTua Cycling Team’s Indonesian climber Tonton Susanto. The lead put the 35-year old Tonton firmly in the running for his third ever Asian riders’ classification win after doing it in 1999 and 2002.

“I am really grateful for what the team has done for me. Just two years ago, I was thinking that my career was over. I thought I would never be able to achieve anything more than what I already had. Then I joined LeTua and they’ve inspired me to carry on. After I won the Jelajah Malaysia last year, I started to believe in the training and the methods that this team has put in place,” said Tonton.

LTDL moves into its penultimate stage tomorrow with 147.6 kilometres to take the peloton from Batang Kali to Petaling Jaya in the central state of Selangor.

Results

1. Jose Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 2:58:56 (34.20km/h)
2. Jai Crawford (Aus) Australia National Team 0:23
3. Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 0:41
4. Frederrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto 0:44
5. Johann Tschopp (Swi) BBox Bouygues Telecom 1:12
6. Carlos José Ochoa (Ven) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1:29
7. Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) South Africa National Team 2:19
8. Tonton Susanto, (Ina) Letua Cycling Team 2:34
9. Lucas Euser (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 3:07
10. Gomez Marchante J A (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 3:27
11. Richie Porte (Aus) Australia National Team 3:34
12. Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam 3:35
13. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 4:03
14. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 4:06
15. Jean-Charles Senac (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4:47
16. Hosein Askari (IRI) Iran National Team
17. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Australia National Team 5:32
18. Gong Hyo Suk (Kor) Seoul Cycling 5:46
19. Ghader Mizbani (IRI) Iran National Team 6:11
20. Silvere Ackermann (Swi) Vorarlberg-Corratec 6:20
21. Tim Roe (Aus) Australia National Team 6:29
22. Jianhua Ji (Chn) China National Team 6:32
23. Daniel Fleeman (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam 6:38
24. Alexander Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 6:51
25. Ricardo Van Der Velde (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream 6:56
26. Fortunato Baliani (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 7:16
27. Christian Meier (Can) Garmin-Slipstream 7:21
28. Johann Rabie (RSA) South Africa National Team 8:19
29. Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 8:33
30. Arkaitz Duran (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 8:42
31. Hong Yoo Ki (Kor) Seoul Cycling 8:51
32. Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 9:04
33. Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) AG2R La Mondiale
34. Floch Guillaume Le (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
35. Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) ISD 9:24
36. Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 9:40
37. Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) ISD 9:49
38. Jaco Venter (RSA) South Africa National Team 10:04
39. Roman Zhiyentayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 10:10
40. Amir Zargari (IRI) Iran National Team 10:16
41. Vitaliy Kondrut (Ukr) ISD 10:21
42. Davide Vigano (Ita) Fuji-Servetto 10:47
43. Pascal Hunger Buhler (Swi) Vorarlberg-Corratec
44. Gene Bates (Aus) Australia National Team
45. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
46. Jeremy Yates, (NZl) Letua Cycling Team 10:56
47. Yong Li Ng (Mas) Letua Cycling Team 11:02
48. Blaise Sonnery (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 11:28
49. Ian Mcleod (RSA) South Africa National Team
50. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Fuji-Servetto 11:44
51. Nor Rizuan Zainal (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 11:47
52. Hyeon Kim Gu (Kor) Seoul Cycling 11:54
53. Gregor Gazvoda (Slo) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 12:04
54. Peng Liu (Chn) China National Team 12:42
55. Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 12:53
56. Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 13:35
57. Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Iran National Team 13:38
58. Daniel Musiol (Ger) Vorarlberg-Corratec 14
59. Amir Mustafa Rusli (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team
60. Mohd Faris Abdu Razak (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team
61. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Fuji-Servetto 14:05
62. Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam 15:19
63. Misbah M Rauf Nur (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 15:46
64. Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Doha Team 16:20
65. Choi Jin Yong (Kor) Seoul Cycling 16:31
66. Gang Xu (Chn) China National Team 16:33
67. Omar Hasanin (Syr) Doha Team 17:29
68. Gianluca Mirenda (Ita) ISD 17:31
69. Guo Hui (Chn) China National Team 17:46
70. Timothy Duggan (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
71. Abdelmalek Madani (Alg) Doha Team 18:01
72. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Garmin-Slipstream 18:13
73. Nepomnyachshiy Y (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 18:25
74. Nikolay Slonov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
75. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBox Bouygues Telecom 18:30
76. Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design
77. Suhardi Hassan (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team
78. René Weissinger (Ger) Vorarlberg-Corratec 18:35
79. Chris Sutton (Aus) Garmin-Slipstream 19:26
80. Adam Semple (Aus) Australia National Team
81. Ali Ahmed Fallanie (Mas) Malaysia National Team 19:35
82. Joaquin Novoa Menedex (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 20:29
83. Oscar Pujol (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 20:41
84. Anuar Manan (Mas) Malaysia National Team
85. Mohd Akmal Amrun (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 21:05
86. Aurélien Clerc (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale 21:37
87. René Haselbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg-Corratec
88. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
89. Hossien Nateghi (IRI) Iran National Team
90. Arnaud Labbe (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
91. Philipp Ludescher (Aut) Vorarlberg-Corratec
92. Wenlong Zhang (Chn) China National Team
93. Sergii Matveyev (Ukr) ISD
94. Alan Marangoni (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare
95. Yohann Gene (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
96. Abdelbaset Hannachi (Alg) Doha Team 21:48
97. Igor Abakoumov (Bel) ISD 21:55
98. Hosein Alizadeh (IRI) Iran National Team 21:59
99. Luca Celli (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 22:04
100. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
101. Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
102. Christoff Van Heerden (RSA) South Africa National Team
103. Aymen Ben Hassine (Tun) Doha Team
104. Mohd Zamri Saleh (Mas) Malaysia National Team 22:25
105. Park Sung Baek (Kor) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 23:03
106. Lim Yew Meng (Mas) Letua Cycling Team 23:07
107. Mohd Razif Mohd Salleh, (Mas) Letua Cycling Team 22:51
108. Nolan Hoffman (RSA) South Africa National Team 23:28
109. Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Mas) Malaysia National Team 23:14
110. Samai (Ina) Letua Cycling Team 23:23
111. Wan Mohammed Najmee W (Mas) Malaysia National Team 23:51
112. Yasuharu Nakajima (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 23:59
113. Sea Keong Loh (Mas) Malaysia National Team 23:53
114. Guillermo R Bongiorno (Arg) CSF Group-Navigare 24:21
115. Federico Canuti (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 24:11
116. Suh Seok Kyu (Kor) Seoul Cycling 26:06
DNF Tiziano Dall’antonia (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare

GC after Stage 5

1. Jose Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 19:36:19
2. Jai Crawford (Aus) Australia National Team 0:27
3. Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 0:47
4. Frederrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto 0:54
5. Johann Tschopp (Swi) BBox Bouygues Telecom 1:22
6. Janse Van Rensburg J (RSA) South Africa National Team 2:29
7. Tonton Susanto, (Ina) Letua Cycling Team 2:44
8. Lucas Euser (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 3:16
9. Gomez Marchante J A (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 3:37
10. Richie Porte (Aus) Australia National Team 3:44
11. Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam 3:45
12. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 4:13
13. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 4:16
14. Hosein Askari (IRI) Iran National Team 4:57
15. Jean-Charles Senac (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
16. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Australia National Team 5:42
17. Gong Hyo Suk (Kor) Seoul Cycling 5:56
18. Ghader Mizbani (IRI) Iran National Team 6:21
19. Silvere Ackermann (Swi) Vorarlberg-Corratec 6:30
20. Tim Roe (Aus) Australia National Team 6:39
21. Jianhua Ji (Chn) China National Team 6:42
22. Daniel Fleeman (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam 6:48
23. Ricardo Van Der Velde (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream 6:56
24. Alexander Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 7:01
25. Fortunato Baliani (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 7:26
26. Christian Meier (Can) Garmin-Slipstream 7:30
27. Johann Rabie (RSA) South Africa National Team 8:29
28. Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 8:43
29. Arkaitz Duran (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 8:52
30. Hong Yoo Ki (Kor) Seoul Cycling 9:01
31. Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) AG2R La Mondiale 9:05
32. Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 9:14
33. Floch Guillaume Le (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
34. Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) ISD 9:34
35. Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 9:50
36. Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) ISD 9:59
37. Roman Zhiyentayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 10:19
38. Jaco Venter (RSA) South Africa National Team 10:22
39. Amir Zargari (IRI) Iran National Team 10:26
40. Vitaliy Kondrut (Ukr) ISD 10:31
41. Gene Bates (Aus) Australia National Team 10:57
42. Davide Vigano (Ita) Fuji-Servetto
43. Pascal Hunger Buhler (Swi) Vorarlberg-Corratec
44. Jeremy Yates, (NZl) Letua Cycling Team 11:04
45. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 11:10
46. Yong Li Ng (Mas) Letua Cycling Team 11:12
47. Blaise Sonnery (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 11:38
48. Ian Mcleod (RSA) South Africa National Team
49. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Fuji-Servetto 11:49
50. Hyeon Kim Gu (Kor) Seoul Cycling 12:04
51. Gregor Gazvoda (Slo) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 12:30
52. Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 13:03
53. Peng Liu (Chn) China National Team 13:12
54. Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 13:45
55. Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Iran National Team 13:48
56. Daniel Musiol (Ger) Vorarlberg-Corratec 14:10
57. Mohd Faris Abdu Razak (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team
58. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Fuji-Servetto 14:15
59. Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam 15:24
60. Misbah M Rauf Nur (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 15:56
61. Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Doha Team 16:30
62. Choi Jin Yong (Kor) Seoul Cycling 16:41
63. Gang Xu (Chn) China National Team 16:59
64. Omar Hasanin (Syr) Doha Team 17:39
65. Gianluca Mirenda (Ita) ISD 17:41
66. Guo Hui (Chn) China National Team 17:56
67. Timothy Duggan (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
68. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Garmin-Slipstream 18:23
69. Nepomnyachshiy Y (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team 18:35
70. Nikolay Slonov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
71. Suhardi Hassan (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 18:38
72. Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 19
73. Chris Sutton (Aus) Garmin-Slipstream 19:24
74. Adam Semple (Aus) Australia National Team 19:36
75. Nor Rizuan Zainal (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 19:59
76. Ali Ahmed Fallanie (Mas) Malaysia National Team 20:12
77. Joaquin Novoa Menedex (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 20:39
78. Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 21:32
79. Aurélien Clerc (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale 21:39
80. Hossien Nateghi (IRI) Iran National Team 21:47
81. Yohann Gene (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
82. René Haselbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg-Corratec
83. Sergii Matveyev (Ukr) ISD
84. Arnaud Labbe (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom
85. Wenlong Zhang (Chn) China National Team
86. Philipp Ludescher (Aut) Vorarlberg-Corratec
87. Abdelbaset Hannachi (Alg) Doha Team 21:58
88. Igor Abakoumov (Bel) ISD 22:05
89. Amir Mustafa Rusli (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 22:08
90. Christoff Van Heerden (RSA) South Africa National Team 22:10
91. Alan Marangoni (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 22:25
92. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 22:37
93. René Weissinger (Ger) Vorarlberg-Corratec 23:03
94. Nolan Hoffman (RSA) South Africa National Team 23:19
95. Mohd Razif Mohd Salleh, (Mas) Letua Cycling Team 23:31
96. Samai (Ina) Letua Cycling Team 23:43
97. Abdelmalek Madani (Alg) Doha Team 23:50
98. Federico Canuti (Ita) CSF Group-Navigare 24:51
99. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBox Bouygues Telecom 25:02
100. Mohd Zamri Saleh (Mas) Malaysia National Team 25:15
101. Park Sung Baek (Kor) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 25:59
102. Suh Seok Kyu (Kor) Seoul Cycling 26:49
103. Oscar Pujol (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 28:04
104. Carlos José Ochoa (Ven) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 28:37
105. Mohd Akmal Amrun (Mas) MNCF Cycling Team 29:28
106. Hosein Alizadeh (IRI) Iran National Team 30:11
107. Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Mas) Malaysia National Team 31:46
108. Lim Yew Meng (Mas) Letua Cycling Team 32:34
109. Yasuharu Nakajima (Jpn) EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design 32:35
110. Aymen Ben Hassine (Tun) Doha Team 35:08
111. Luca Celli (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 36:33
112. Anuar Manan (Mas) Malaysia National Team 41:56
113. Wan Mohammed Najmee W (Mas) Malaysia National Team 42:21
114. Sea Keong Loh (Mas) Malaysia National Team 42:43
115. Guillermo R Bongiorno (Arg) CSF Group-Navigare 42:51
116. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom 47:05