The Tour of Beijing may have been the race that put Asia on the WorldTour but for several years it was a Malaysian race that enjoyed the status as the biggest race on the continent. With its iconic summit finish on the Genting Highlands and many sprint stages, the Tour de Langkawi has always been a spectacular event that has offered the European stars a chance to do lots of racing kilometres in good weather conditions.

During the past two decades, cycling has become a lot more globalized. While big stage races were created in North America and Australia, it was Malaysia who put Asia on the map when they first organized the Tour de Langkawi. While it has had a rich racing scene and many stage races for several year, it lacked a major draw card that could attract some of the biggest European races until the Malaysian race was first held in 1996.

With its early date, good organization and great weather, it has always managed to attract the interest of some of the big European teams that have preferred to head to the sun for the early racing kilometres. It may have lost the battle against races like the ones in the Middle East and the Tour Down Under and the start list has definitely not always had the best quality but it remains an important preparation race for many European riders. As it is held a bit latter than the other main non-European build-up races, it is tailor-made for riders who aim to peak a little later in the season.

The Tour de Langkawi has always been a strange race.  Very often it has been held over 10 stages and as most of them are flat, it has been a paradise for the sprinters. Almost all stages have been decided in a bunch sprint and this has made some of the races rather monotonous.

However, the sprinters have never been in contention for the overall win. Nearly every edition has included the famous summit finish on the Genting Highlands which has very often determined the overall winner of the race. In the past, there has been a time trial too but that stage has now been skipped. This makes the race a special affair where the sprinters battle it out in several flat stages while the climbers ride for several days, only waiting to make their move in the queen stage. The Genting Highlands is a very tough climb and can make a huge difference and as it has virtually decided the race every year, it is no surprise that the race has been dominated by pure climbers from Colombia and Venezuela. The Tour de Langkawi suits two kinds of riders: pure climbers and pure sprinters. For the latter category of riders, it is a perfect chance to show their speed instead of doing the harder races Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico where they have limited opportunities while the former get a rare chance to win a major stage race without having to do any time trialling.

The course

Not much has changed for the 2015 edition of the Tour de Langkawi which is a very traditional affair made up of sprint stages and the queen stage to Genting Highlands. The main change is the new date which sees the race take place a bit later than usual and the fact that it has been shorted from 10 to 8 stages. However, the organizers have also included a bit more climbing and there are less completely flat stages

The race kicks off with a short 99.2km stage around the island of Langkawi and it is in fact the only stage that takes place in the area that has given the race its name. As it is virtually completely flat, it should offer the sprinters their first chance.

One day later the riders will tackle 185 mostly flat kilometres from Alor Setar to Sungai Petani. It should be another chance for the fast finishers but two late category 4 climbs may test them a bit. Stage 3 is a 170km run from Gerik to Tanah Merah and has unusually much climbing as the riders will tackle both a category 2 and category 1 climb in the first half. With a completely flat finale, a sprint finish is expected but as the riders will have been going up to more than 1000m above sea level, it will be interesting to see how many fast finishers have survived the climbing.

The 165.4km stage 4 from Kota Bahru to Kuala Berang only has a late category 4 climb and should be a guaranteed opportunity for the sprinters. At 200km, stage 5 from Kuala Terengganu to Kuantan is a long one and it is almost completely flat. However, there is a tough uncategorized climbs inside the final 10km and this could challenge some of the sprinters. Stage 6 is a short 96.6km run from Maran to Karak and with no categorized climbs, it is definitely one for the sprinters.

In the past, the winner of the Genting stage has often had to defend his lead for several flat stages but this year he won’t have to rely much on his team. In 2015, the queen stage comes on the penultimate day when the riders tackle 105.7km from Shah Alam to the top of the Genting Highlands. The first 70km are completely flat but then the road starts to rise. Known as one of the hardest climbs in Asia, this is the stage that will decide the GC and is one for the pure climbers. It is 19.5km long and only has a gradient of 5.5% but the final part is much harder with two-digit sections. The race ends with a flat 96.1km stage from KualaKubu Bahru to the capital of Kuala Lumpur and will allow the sprinters one final chance to go for glory.

The favourites

When it comes to the GC battle, there is not much mystery about the Tour de Langkawi. The sprint stages have no influence on the final classification which will be completely shaped by the climb of the Genting Highlands. This year the hilly stage 3 may offer a second chance for the climbers to make a difference but with a long flat second half, that is unlikely to happen. However, the GC teams have to be on their toes that day as there is a chance that a breakaway may stay away and so upset their plans for the overall win.

Unless that happens, however, the race will probably be won by the strongest climber who can make a difference on the steep Genting ascent, and this suits MTN-Qhubeka down to the ground. While most teams have pretty sprint-heavy line-ups, the African team has four climbers on its roster and two of them are among the big favourites.

Last year Merhawi Kudus got his big breakthrough when he finished second in this race. Initially, he had missed the big group that went clear in the queen stage but he managed to bridge the gap to finish second on the stage. He never seemed to reach the same lofty level later in the year but it seems that he has benefited from getting through the Vuelta near the end of the season.

In 2015 he was riding very strongly in the Mallorca races where he kept up with Alejandro Valverde during the Spaniard’s demonstration of power in the hardest race. Later he went on to do really well in the Ruta del Sol queen stage where he finished 7th and he is obviously among the very best climbers at the moment. He has the potential to become one of the very best in the future and the warm weather and long climb should suit him perfectly. An in-form Kudus is or favourite to win the race.

Sebastian Henao may have had a slower start to his career than his cousin Sergio but the young Sky rider is very talented. His team are very confident in him after he proved his worth in last year’s Giro where he was 8th in the queen stage. They have been keen to give him a chance to lead the team and that’s why they have sent him to Langkawi. He is not as explosive as Sergio and is more of a pure climber who should excel in this tough finale. Furthermore, he seems to recover very well which is important as the queen stage comes after a week of hard racing.

Jacques Janse van Rensburg has always done well in this race and he finished 6th overall last year. However, he now seems to have taken a massive step up after he got through the Vuelta last year. Recently, he finished fifth overall in the Tour of Oman which was stacked with grand tour stars and this proves that he is riding very strongly at the moment. In fact, he claims that that race was only preparation for Langkawi and so he may be even stronger here. He may not be the same kind of pure climber than Kudus but he may be the one in best condition and this could give him the win.

Pieter Weening finished second in this race two years ago and that performance signaled the start of a fantastic season for the Dutchman who went on to win the Tour de Pologne. He may have failed to reach the same level in 2014 but he has showed that he can be among the best in this race. He didn’t really shine in Oman but with a week of solid racing in his legs, he is likely to have improved in time for the queen stage.

Rodolfo Torres got a massive breakthrough in the Tour de San Luis where he distanced Nairo Quintana on the climbs and finished second overall. Having returned to Europe, he has also climbed well even though he was a slight disappointment in the Vuelta a Andalusia. However, he gradually found his legs and left the race with lots of confidence. This race and the warmer weather should suit him a lot better and if he still has the San Luis legs, he should do well in this race.

Francisco Mancebo may be close to retirement but he is still going strong. Unlike many other riders, he already has a lot of racing in his legs and he has been riding extremely well. He won the Tour of Egypt in January and put in an impressive showing in the Dubai Tour which didn’t suit him at all. Later he went on to work for his team at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo but in this race he should be a leader. He is definitely not the climber he once was but in a race with no major grand tour stars he could to out to be the best.

Mancebo will share leadership duties with Edgar Pinto. The Portuguese climbed really well in last year’s Volta a Portugal where he won a stage and finished fifth overall. This year he has joined Skydive Dubai and like Mancebo he has been racing a lot this year. He mixed it up with the WorldTour stars when he was fifth in the Dubai Tour queen stage and this race should suit him a lot better.

Alexandr Dyachenko has always done well in this race but he was far from his best in 2014 and still needs to prove that he can return to his past level. Torku line up two strong climbers with Kevin Seeldraeyers and Tomasz Marczynski but none of them has had any racing in 2015. On the other hand, this race will be one of the big goals and they may have prepared really well. Isaac Bolivar was third here in 2014 but he has failed to reach his best level since. Finally, Valerio Agnoli was very strong in Algarve but this climb may be a bit too hard for the fast Italian.

UPDATE: Genting Highlands have been removed from the course. Instead, the stage will finish on Fraser's Hill which is a lot easier.

***** Merhawi Kudus

**** Sebastian Henao, Jacques Janse van Rensburg

*** Pieter Weening, Rodolfo Torres, Francisco Mancebo, Edgar Pinto

** Alexandr Dyachenko, Kevin Seeldraeyers, Tomasz Marczyncki, Isaac Bolivar, Valerio Agnoli

* Carlos Galviz, Natnael Berhane, Janes Brajkovic, Edward Diaz, Edward Beltran, Jesper Hansen, Damien Howson, Philip Deignan, Ian Boswell, John Ebsen, Daniel Teklehaimanot