Showdown beckons at Tour de Langkawi
With Dave Zabriskie’s overall challenge evaporating dramatically on yesterday’s fifth stage of the Tour de Langkawi, the Garmin-Barracuda team has thrown its full weight behind Tom Danielson today.
The American squad had intended having two leaders going onto the climb, but yesterday’s events have meant that it will focus on one rider only; the 2003 rce winner.
Directeur sportif Allan Peiper admitted after the stage that he was unsure what happened to Zabriskie. Asked when he realized the rider was in trouble, he said it didn’t take long at all. “It was at the bottom of the first climb,” he said in a video interview. “I saw he was struggling straight away. I don’t know if he’s sick or the heat got to him, but it was not normal anyway.”
VeloNation spoke both the team doctor and Zabriskie himself this morning and there was no real diagnosis. The hot, humid climates in Malaysia are seen as one possibility, although it’s hard to be certain. “My legs were just empty,” said the US time trial champion.
Whatever the cause, the effect is clear; the two-headed hydra of team leadership has become more straightforward. “Everything’s still under control,”Peiper said.
“We just got to make sure we put Tom in a good position at the bottom [of Genting], that that pace is high enough that they are not just attacking all over the place. I think we have enogh firepower to get to the bottom of the final climb with Tom Petersen and put him in a good position.”
The riders are currently racing towards that crucial final climb, which is one of the steepest ascents in cycling. It is certain to upend the general classification and, while four stages remain after this one, the final overall standings will largely be shaped today.
Australian rider Darren Lapthorne (Drapac Cycling) is race leader, with Danielson second and another former race winner, 2010 champion José Rujano, fourth.