PH cyclist Marcelo enters Top 10 in Le Tour de Langkawi

The 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines team. (PNA photo)

MANILA — Marcelo Felipe of 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines showed off his mountain-climbing skill on Monday to break into the Top 10 in the Individual General Classification of the ongoing Le Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia.

Felipe ruled Stage 2’s first King of the Mountain (Category 3) and was No. 2 in the second KOM (Category 1) to improve from 96th place to No. 8 in the 23rd edition of the International Cycling Union-sanctioned event organized by Ciclista Sports, in cooperation with the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The rider from Nueva Ecija also ranked fourth in the Best Asian Rider category behind Seo Joon-yong of South Korea, Yevgeniy Gidich of Kazakhstan, and Mohd Azwan Nik Zulkiflie after the 208-kilometer Gerik-Kota Bharu second stage.

Italian Riccardo Minali won Stage 2 while his compatriots, Matteo Malucelli and Paolo Simion, finished second and third, respectively.

Minali leads the Individual General Classification followed by Korean Seo Joon-yong, Malucelli, Eritrea’s Mekseb Debesay, Simion, Gidich and Zulkiflie.

Seo is the leader in the Best Asian Rider General Classification followed by Gidich, Zulkiflie, Marcelo, China’s Niu Yikui, Indonesia’s Muhammad Abdurrohman, China’s Liu Jianpeng, Malaysia’s Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin, and Thailand’s Phuchong Saiudomsin and Sarawut Sirionnachai.

The top five teams in the General Classification are Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec (Italy), Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan), Bennelong Swiss Wellness Cycling Team (Australia), Team Dimension Data (South Africa) and Terengganu Cycling Team (Malaysia).

The 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines is at No. 12.

Stage 3, which is a 166-kilometer flat ride from Kota Bharu to Kota Terengganu, will feature three international sprints.