Breuillard Takes First Professional Win at Genting Highlands as Jasch Retains Orange Jersey
(Genting Highlands, Malaysia, October 1)
French rider Nicolas Breuillard of TotalEnergies claimed the first professional victory of his career on Stage 5 of the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi, converting a long-range breakaway into an impressive summit victory at Genting Highlands.
The 125.7km stage started in Tapah and finished at Genting Highlands, 1,629 meters above sea level. It was the second consecutive major mountain finish of this year's race and another crucial test for the general classification contenders.
Breuillard joined a six-rider breakaway early in the stage, with the group eventually building an advantage of more than five minutes over the peloton.
As the race entered the decisive climb to Genting Highlands, the breakaway gradually split apart. Breuillard and Josh Burnett of Burgos Burpellet-BH emerged as the two strongest riders at the front before the Frenchman launched his decisive attack with around two kilometers remaining.
Breuillard completed the stage in 3 hours, 11 minutes and 26 seconds, finishing eight seconds ahead of Burnett to secure a milestone victory in his career.
The result was particularly significant for the French rider, marking not only his first professional win but also making him the first French rider to win a Tour de Langkawi stage atop Genting Highlands.
Breuillard has already signed a contract to join XDS Astana Team for the 2027 season, meaning his breakthrough victory in Malaysia provided an important glimpse of what he could bring to his future WorldTeam.
Speaking after the stage, Breuillard credited careful planning and teamwork for the victory.
"I am thrilled with today's victory. It was all down to careful planning and team effort, especially Valentin Retailleau, who helped protect me in the front group."
Breuillard explained that he originally came to Malaysia hoping to achieve a strong overall result, but a stage victory had also been a major personal objective.
"My goal coming here was to chase a good position in the GC, and every day we try our best. Personally, I really wanted to win a stage this year."
His role within TotalEnergies had also become more important after the team's primary climber, Geoffrey Bouchard, was forced to leave the race following his crash on Stage 1.
At the post-race press conference, Breuillard was also asked for his impressions of the famous Genting Highlands climb.
He revealed that one of his sports directors had compared the climb to Mont Ventoux, located near his home in southern France.
"One of my sports directors told me that the Genting climb was a little like Mont Ventoux near my home."
Mont Ventoux, a 1,909-meter limestone mountain in Provence in southern France, is one of the most famous climbs in professional cycling and is particularly associated with its legendary appearances in the Tour de France.
While Breuillard celebrated his breakthrough win, Tudor Pro Cycling Team's German rider Lennart Jasch continued his strong run in the general classification.
Jasch finished third on the stage and successfully retained the overall leader's orange jersey. He now holds a 26-second advantage over Abel Balderstone of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA.
Jasch also collected another 16 mountain points, taking his total to 35 and reclaiming the King of the Mountains polka-dot jersey that he had lost to Petr Rikunov of Wheeltop ROTOR Chengdu Continental Team at Cameron Highlands the previous day.
Reflecting on the stage, Jasch said the breakaway's advantage had grown to almost five minutes before the final climb, but he remained composed with the support of his Tudor teammates.
"The group out front was quite fast, building almost a five-minute gap heading into the climb. My rhythm was nearly disrupted when a few riders crashed ahead of me."
Conditions improved slightly toward the summit, helping Jasch concentrate on his closest general classification rivals.
"Fortunately, in the final seven kilometers, the weather cooled down, allowing me to focus even as I was under constant pressure from the two Caja Rural contenders."
With three stages remaining, Jasch said his priority would be to stay close to Balderstone and rely on his team to protect the orange jersey.
Elsewhere, Yuhi Todome of Aisan Racing Team retained the white jersey as Best Asian Rider, while XDS Astana Team's Matteo Malucelli continued to hold the blue sprint classification jersey.
Malaysian brothers Tsen Ren Han and Tsen Ren Bao also delivered notable performances on the Genting climb, finishing 29th and 30th respectively. Ren Bao later described seeing his father and younger sister cheering from the roadside as a particularly special moment.
Stage 6 will take the peloton from Pandan Indah to Rembau over 121.7km, featuring three Category 3 climbs and three intermediate sprint points.
With the two decisive summit finishes at Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands now completed, the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi enters its final three stages. Jasch remains firmly in control of the orange jersey, while Breuillard leaves Genting Highlands with a career-defining first professional victory ahead of his move to XDS Astana in 2027.
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