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The 2004 Le Tour de Langkawi
A pictorial - Stage 9

a pictorial by Darren Lee | images by Andrew "Hats" Lee

Genting Highlands has come to be known as the queen stage of the Tour de Langkawi. The winner is often, if not all the time, decided on this day, with the final stage in Kuala Lumpur a mere formality (or the last-chance saloon for the sprinters who missed out on earlier glory, if you look at it from another way).

This is the first year that I had actually made the trip up Genting to catch the action live, although I nearly missed it. It was the day of the stage and I was still lying on my bed at 7:30am, in Penang, debating on the phone with Andrew "Hats" Lee (TheDuh.com Official Photographer) on whether we should bother making the mad dash down south as the climb to Genting would begin in a matter of 5 hours or less. We did make it, of course, otherwise you won't be reading this ....

We had originally intended to drive halfway up, park at the cable car station and take the cable car for the rest of the way. To our horror (or rather mine, since I was driving ...), the station was closed so we ended up at the top still in the car. We apparently made it by the skin of our teeth as we were one of the last cars allowed to drive up.

Having deposited the car at a nearby hotel, we proceeded to walk to the finishing area. I discover that wearing two t-shirts isn't enough. The temperature may have been mild but the wind was freezing. Needless to say, we were very agreeable with a few tasty Maggi Hot Bowls, sold by Nestle who had opened a stall nearby.

We hung around the finishing area for a while and met some cyclists who had ridden up the mountain earlier in the morning. One of them was Doc Adrian, whom I understand is the StyleMan of the BikePro gang. Well, he did look immaculate even after the brutal 20km climb. And Doc, if you're reading this, I still need to get those Santini bibs .....

Anyway, we decided that a little walk down where the crowds are thinner would be warranted in order to obtain better pictures. We proceeded to station ourselves somewhere between the pagoda and the taxi stand, which I think is about 2-3 km from the finish. Andrew made himself comfortable (as comfortable as you can get sitting in a mini monsoon drain) while I stationed myself on a rock to spot the oncoming riders.

And so, let the action begin ...... (note: apart from the first two pictures, the rest are not in order)

The two killer climbers of TdL - overall winner Freddy Gonzalez and King of the Mountains Ruber Marin (foreground).

Followed by the other two killer climbers of the day - Dave Bruylandts (left) and Ryan Cox, just 40 seconds behind. Bruylandts was subsequently sanctioned for EPO use in the summer of 2004.

The requisite Breakaway Guy(tm) for Genting stage - Michele Gobbi. Iran's Ghader Mizbani, who finished an excellend 9th on the stage (he was sanctioned recently for a doping offence, though). Don't you reckon that he looks like Abraham Olano?

Everyone's favourite Italian - Fortunato Baliani, who later rode with an attacking style at the Giro d'Italia.

Gordon Fraser looking REALLY beaten up. He had crashed earlier in the stage while attempting to demontrate something to another rider.

Yellow Jersey Marlon Perez without teammates and losing it on Genting.

Brett Lancaster (left) and Graeme "What, this is Genting?" Brown. Of course, they were already way behind the leaders of the stage.

Ireland's Phillip Deignan on his oh-so-delicious Bora G3s.

Ruben "Tree Trunks" Bongiorno all alone. He would win the next day's stage (Kuala Lumpur Criterium).

One small gruppeto winds its way up the steep grinding roads of Genting. Trent Wilson is on the left of the road while Sean Sullivan takes the right.

And finally, other sights

Every day's a good day to use the SRM Powermeter.

Mr Mickey Robb of Northern Ireland (who is a UCI commissaire) taking 40 winks after a tough stage in the cool atmosphere of Genting's New World Hotel.

Dominique Perras' Guru bike - notice the distance (or lack of) between the tire and the seat stay, which, according to Bruce (Canada's mechanic), rub against each other when Perras hammers on the pedals.

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