Colombia youngster Duber Quintero took the team's first win of the season when he became a surprise winner of the first stage of the Tour de Langkawi from a breakaway. Having taken a very early victory, the team sees it as a sign of progress and is now ready to defend their jersey.

Team Colombia celebrated its first victory of the year in its absolute debut at the Tour de Langkawi, and that goes to the credit of youngster Duber Quintero, who took his first pro win in a brilliant solo effort to the line in Langkawi after 101 km. Part of a 5-man breakaway, Duber kicked out with 2 km to go, opening the 11-second gap he needed to raise his arms and enjoy the complete taste of his maiden victory on the big stage.

Quintero bested former fellow escapees Matt Brammeier (Synergy Baku) and Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare), while the peloton led by Astana sprinter Andrea Guardini, came in with a 1.18 gap. In addition to the stage win, Quintero took the first overall leader’s jersey: due to the bonifications, he leads the classification with 22 seconds on Clarke and 24 on Brannmeier, while also taking on the Sprints Classification blue jersey.

The winning action started just after the start of the 1st stage of the 10-day race, rode in a very hot weather on the Malaysian island: five men – Quintero, Brammeier, Clarke, Aziz (Terengganu) and Goh (Singapore) – moved on the break, and went on to open a huge 7-plus-minute gap taking advantage of the lack of response by the sprinters’ teams.

“We had very good cooperation in the break, while the peloton did not react – and when they did, it was too late,” Quintero said.

With the pack out of contention, and the breakaway group down to four units after Aziz was dropped, Quintero made his move with 2 km to go.

“I know I am not the fastest sprinter in the world, hence trying to go solo was really my best shot. At 2.000 metres to go I took advantage of a moment of distraction, and the gamble paid off.

“I am excited for myself, for my team that celebrates its first joy of the year, for all the Colombian fans. I wish to dedicate this victory to my teammates, all the people that work with us every day, and to everyone who believed in me.

"This is my second year as a professional. I only turned pro last year and this is my first victory as a professional, so this makes this race even more memorable for me already.

"I have heard about this race before but this is my first time here and from the moment I arrived I have liked this place. I like the people, they are very friendly and the temperature is exactly like where I come from, so I wouldn't mind coming back here for a holiday.

"My style of riding is usually to go on a lot of attacks, but I have not tasted victory until today. We were quite strong in the breakaway and we could keep up the pace and built a decent gap. With one kilometre to go, I felt that I had enough energy to have a go and I decided to try and I managed to drop the others and go for the win.

"I am usually a rider for the flat stages, but we have come here with a strong team and our target is definitely the overall title. We will see how it goes, maybe I can climb to try and defend the jersey when we get to the mountain."

General Manager Claudio Corti was understandably pleased to comment on the first victory of the year.

“In three seasons, we had never managed to win so early in the year, and I see it as a very significant indication: it means our team is progressively succeeding in blending into International cycling, and now we are seeing the results. Hats off to Duber and to the whole team!”

Tomorrow, Quintero will look to defend his yellow jersey in the second stage, Sungan Petani-Talping (132,5 km): the route profile is not that frightening, but the Malaysian heat could lead to some more surprises, just like today.

“It’s a long way to go, and I know how difficult it will be to wear this jersey till the end. But we are going to try,” Quintero said.

Meanwhile, on the opening day of the Track World Championships in Calì, the Colombian quartet including Colombia riders Juan Esteban Arango and Edwin Avila could not get into the finals of the Team Pursuit competition. Colombia finished 10th, while Team Colombia’s athletes will compete together again in the Madison on the final day of the event.