Adam de Vos slips into yellow with solo stage win at Le Tour de Langkawi

by Aaron S. Lee

Still covered in bandages from an opening stage crash, Victoria’s Adam de Vos (Rally Cycling) was all smiles following his sensational breakaway stage win at Le Tour de Langkawi (UCI 2.HC) on Tuesday.

“My teammates sometimes call me the ‘Sneaky Fox’ and so I guess I lived up to it today,” de Vos told Canadian Cycling Magazine after showing off his ‘fox’ tattoo on his lower left arm depicting the meaning of his Dutch surname.

“I wasn’t even sure I could continue the race after hitting the deck [on the first stage], but I am glad I did,” he continued after wrapping up the 160-kilometre breakaway with a win on Stage 3. “I surprised myself a bit with the legs on yesterday making the front group on that climb. I knew that was a good test. Then today I just decided to go in the breakaway and give it a go and it worked out really well.”

Canadian A_de_Vos gives newly registered @UCI_cycling Pro Conti team @Rally_Cycling its first win of the season with a sensational breakaway win on the third stage of @ltdlofficial, thus moving into yellow in the process! | via @Eurosport @CanadianCycling #homeofcycling #ltdl2018 pic.twitter.com/Cie0wwdyEe

— Aaron S. Lee (@aaronshanelee) March 20, 2018

The stage win marks the third time a Canadian rider has topped the podium in Kuala Terengganu. Both Brian Walton and Rally sports director Eric Wohlberg have claimed victories along the same shores of the Malaysian coastal town in 1997 and 1999 respectively. While fellow countryman Gordon Fraser won a Langkawi stage in 2001, it was Wohlberg who was the last Canadian to win 14 years ago with an 18km individual time trial victory in Melaka.

“It wasn’t really in the cards today,” Wohlberg said. “Honestly we thought it was going be a field sprint, but we always want to put a guy in any kind of significant move if it’s big enough regardless who is in it.

“Hats off to the breakaway guys,” he continued. “They committed and rode that thing hard and I feel bad for the guys that came out towards the end there, but it was a huge effort from the whole move and Adam just had the horsepower to stick it. I’m really proud of him.”

The 24-year-old Victorian’s win also marks the first of the season for Rally Cycling, which just made the step to UCI Professional Continental status in 2018.

“I’ve already been all over the world, Spain, France, Oman and now here so it’s been a fun ride,” de Vos explained. “It’s been busy with the travel, but I don’t think there’s been a huge amount of pressure. Everyone is working hard and we all work together to pull this off for everyone, and to get the first win for the team for the year and at an [hors catégorie] race like this is great. I think everyone will be happy.”

Wohlberg shared his winning rider’s sentiment.

“It justifies our selection into these ranks,” he said. “We’ve been knocking on the door for a while. We just had to get a little extra support and Rally really stepped up and are behind us 100 per cent — and thanks to them for doing it.”

According to de Vos, the win comes in large part thanks to former teammate and fellow British Columbian Will Routley, who retired from cycling after racing with Rally in 2016.

“At the start, it’s always hard to tell,” said de Vos referring to the break’s chances to stay way after losing general classification contender Thomas Lebas (Kinan) following the first intermediate sprint. “We had eight riders and all worked together well and were strong.

“My old teammate Will Routley taught me a lot about riding in breakways and I learned some things from him I used to today,” continued the Amgen Tour of California stage runner-up.

“After the last intermediate sprint I knew we had a really good chance because we still had seven minutes with 65 km to go and we all weren’t too tired, so we could ride strong and fast and that’s when I knew we had good chance to stay away.”

De Vos ‘out-foxed’ his rivals with a solo attack off the remaining riders from the original nine-man break.

“[KSPO’s Dae-yeon Kim] was really fast in the intermediate sprints,” explained de Vos. “I knew I didn’t want to ride to the finish with him, so I thought I would take my chances solo. After the last corner with two kilometres to go there was a lull at the front and I attacked and had a gap quickly. I was able to hold it and extend it all the way.”

The 2017 Joe Martin stage winner now moves into the overall lead by 14 seconds after lifting the yellow leader’s jersey from Italian sprinter and Stage 2 winner Riccardo Minali (Astana). He becomes the third stage winner and race leader in as many days and intends to defend.

When asked if he was a GC rider, he responded without hesitation: “I am going to have to be.”

With another expected sprint stage on Wednesday, the 23rd edition of the UCI 2. HC Asia Tour race features the second of two mountain stages on Thursday with a hilltop finish atop the Cameron Highlands — won by Dimension Data’s Mekseb Debesay last year.

“I know the climb,” he explained. “It can be a big group at the end. I am just going to recover the next day and give it my all on the climb there.

“If I lose the jersey I will be disappointed, but I’m still happy with a stage win.”

Aaron S. Lee (@aaronshanelee) is a cycling and triathlon columnist for Eurosport and a guest contributor to Canadian Cycling Magazine.