George Jackson Emerges Victorious in Wet Race, Enrico Zanoncello Takes Over Petronas Green Jersey
Baling: George Jackson of Bolton Equities Black Spoke showcased an impressive sprint to secure a hard-fought victory in Stage 3 of the PETRONAS Le Tour de Langkawi 2023, which concluded in Baling today. Jackson held off a fierce sprint battle against Enrico Zanoncello from Green Project-Bardiani, who had to settle for second place. Despite the disappointment, Zanoncello managed to claim the PETRONAS Green Jersey from Tudor’s Arvid de Kleijn and became the overall leader after the third day of the race.
Today’s victory marked Jackson’s fourth win of the season. Just a week earlier, he had triumphed in two stages and secured the overall title of the Tour of Taihu Lake in China. Led by teammate Matthew Bostock, Jackson navigated through the sprint and overtook Zanoncello with a slight advantage. Although he couldn’t take over the GC standings, Zanoncello emerged as the new overall leader with a time of 12.55.05.
The stage was initially expected to favor climbers and general classification contenders, but it was the 23-year-old Jackson who had the last laugh. “I’m pretty stoked with today’s win. It was a hard race, but the boys did a great job of chasing the leaders all day,” said Jackson, emphasizing the team’s focus is now on securing another stage win and fighting for the general classification.
Despite wearing the green jersey, Zanoncello couldn’t hide his disappointment in finishing second. He said, “I was eyeing for a win today, but in the end, George is the better rider. I’m disappointed, and today’s jersey comes as a consolation to me.” Zanoncello had previously secured stage wins in this year’s Tour of Qinghai Lake.
Simon Carr from EF Education-Easy Post, who currently sits in third place overall with a four-minute deficit, will be an athlete to watch as the race heads to Genting Highlands on Wednesday.
Although Tudor Pro Cycling team lost the leader’s jersey, they still had reasons to celebrate as Simon Pellaud took over as the leader of the mountains classification and the new wearer of TOURISM MALAYSIA Polk Dot Jersey. Pellaud garnered full points in three out of the four KOMs on offer, including the Cat. 1 climb at Puncak Titiwangsa.
Arvid de Kleijn, the teammate and Stage One winner, maintained his position at the top of the Sprints Classification and will start Stage 4 in the KBS Orange Jersey as the Best Sprinter. The Dutchman tied with Zanoncello with 27 points after three stages.
The Malaysian National Team had Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli to thank for securing the BEAUTIFUL TERENGGANU White Jersey as the Best Asian Rider.
Carr, one of the main riders in the early breakaway group of nine, was awarded the BUBBLES O2 Most Combative award for the day.
Of the 125 riders who started the race, it ended with 121. Three riders failed to start, and four dropped out. Additionally, three Giant Cycling Team riders were unable to make it to the start line due to an accident that caused their team van to flip over within the neutral zone in Jeli. Fortunately, the riders and van driver escaped serious injuries.
Stage 4, which will cover a flat route of 140.2km from Bukit Mertajam to Meru Raya Ipoh, offers sprinters another chance to earn a spot on the winners’ podium with three intermediate sprints and a small Cat 3 climb.
