After yesterday's excellent showing by Petr Ignatenko on the queen stage, Katusha were happy to have an easy day in the saddle in today's 5th stage of the Tour de Langkawi. The team didn't help chase down the breakaway that stayed away to the finish and in the end Alexander Porsev sprinted to 9th.

The Russian rider of  Katusha Aleksander Porsev finished in 9th position today in the fifth stage of Le Tour de Langkawi – 139,9 km from Karak to Rembau.

It was expected that the stage could end with the bunch sprint, but the breakaway of 6 riders, who went away from the start of the race, managed to stay awa to the finish line, with three riders surviving until the end.

Thus, Bradley White from UnitedHealthCare won the stage ahead of Thomas Rabou from OCBC Singapore and Louis Meintjes, the South African Champion from MTN-Qhubeka.

The peloton finished 1 minute and 15 seconds too late. Aleksandr Porsev took part in the final bunch sprint and finished 6th in the peloton, taking 9th place on the stage.

"Today’s stage was more or less quiet and non-stressful," manager Viacheslav Ekimov said. "It was a very hot day, so the peloton did not have any strong intention to catch the breakaway. Moreover, there was a climb with 11 km to go.

"Finally, the breakaway went away, three of six riders from the escape could hold their advantage till the finish and play the victory. After yesterday's hard stage our team spent a quiet and calm stage to accumulate energy for the next sprint stages where we want to be in front."