"Everything was good, everything was going as planned, then Andrea lost his chain in the finish."
Those were the words of Maxat Ayazbayev after stage six at the Tour de Langkawi. Ayazbayev and teammate Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev worked to keep sprinter Andrea Guardini at the front of the short, fast stage in Malaysia, and led the peloton into the final kilometer.
Guardini, who has won three stages so far this year at the Tour de Langkawi, began his sprint and was sure to win number four when a technical malfunction temporarily stopped him from pedaling.
Astana Pro Team began working from the beginning of the stage to control the breakaway, and captured the escapees with 7km to the finish.
Guardini was able to restart his sprint with 300m to go, but it was too late to come back to the front, and the Italian rider with 17 career Langkawi victories to his name finished fifth behind stage winner Caleb Ewan of Australia.
Nico CLAESSENS 39 years | today |
Anthony SAUX 33 years | today |
Brian LIGNEEL 33 years | today |
Heinrich BERGER 39 years | today |
Sara CASASOLA 25 years | today |
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