Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2014 14:06:45 -0500
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/le-tour-de-langkawi-2014/stage-4/results
[image: Inline image 1]
March 2, Stage 4: Subang - Genting Highlands 110.9kmPourseyedi Golakhour
wins queen stage of Tour de Langkawi
By: Sadhbh O'Shea
Published: March 2, 07:15,
Updated: March 2, 14:28
Iranian takes race lead ahead of Kudis and Bolivar
New race leader Pourseyedigolakhour Mirsamad (Tabriz Petrochemical)
[image: New race leader Pourseyedigolakhour Mirsamad (Tabriz Petrochemical)]
Mirsamad Pourseyedi Golakhour (Tabriz Petrochemical) timed his attack to
perfection to beat Merhawi Kudus (MTN-Qhubeka) and Isaac Bolivar
(UnitedHealthcare) to win the queen stage of the Tour de Langkawi and all
but secure the overall race victory.
The delighted Iranian could hardly speak after his efforts on the climb,
distancing Kudus by four seconds on the steep finish. Inevitably, there
will be questions about his performance, though, as he returned to racing
last summer after a two-year ban for EPO. Since his comeback. he has also
won the Tour of Qinghai Lake.
Pourseyedi Golakhour sat in the wheel of Bolivar and Kudus, who both made
several attacks on the final climb that reduced the bunch to a mere 12
riders only coming out for his final push to the line. When
Pourseyedigolakhour went, his rivals didn't have the legs to keep up. "At
10km to go we hit a flat bit and I asked him to go past and he said no.
Then I was behind him in the last 200 metres, but I couldn't pass him,"
said Kudus at the finish.
Kudus sits only eight seconds behind Pourseyedi Golakhour in the general
classification and with bonus seconds available in the sprints there is
still a chance for the Eritrean to overhaul the gap. While Kudus isn't
disregarding the possibility, he says it will be difficult. "First I will
discuss it with my team and we will see how they feel. I think it might be
over though, because there are no more climbs. I haven't made any plans, we
will see."
Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEDGE) took a hugely impressive fourth place, in
his first race since a serious injury last February.
Stage 4 was the only opportunity for the climbers to test their legs
against their rivals, with the summit finish at Genting Highlands. The
final ascent consisted of two climbs and a small descent allowing for a
little respite. The killer, though, was the final 500 metres where the road
kicked up to a leg sapping gradient.
The day began with a large break of 31 riders, as the peloton split into
two. With only two teams missing from the break, the peloton were more than
happy to let them go. Point's and mountain's classification leader Matt
Brammeier (Synergy Baku) got away with a number of riders from the Belkin
team, Theo Bos, Jack Bobridge and Steven Kruijswijk.
"The group split and we had Stevie (Kruijswijk) and he was our main rider
for today. It worked well and then we just rode tempo through the valley to
keep the other group away," Bobridge explained to *Cyclingnews *at the
finish. "It split naturally. It happens sometimes, everybody is nervous of
the stage and a big group went away. We were lucky that we were there."
As the race neared the bottom of the final climb riders were gradually
dispatched out the back of the bunch. On his way, Brammeier secured several
more points in the mountains competition, he also holds onto the lead in
the point's competition. The remaining group made it to the foot of the
final climb with a little over a minute's advantage over the peloton.
Race leader Duber Quintero missed out on the split and finished six minutes
down on the race leader and was forced to hand over his yellow jersey.
Tomorrow should be a chance for the sprinters once again, although the two
third category climbs in the last 20 kilometres could change things.
(image/jpeg attachment: merhawi-kdus.JPG)