Gimeno Takes Breakaway Victory on Stage 7 as Jasch Stays in Orange
(Batu Pahat, Malaysia, October 3)
The 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi continued today with Stage 7 from Melaka to Batu Pahat, where Nil Gimeno Ferrer of Equipo Kern Pharma produced a surprise breakaway victory to claim the first professional win of his career.
The 158.9km stage started at Dataran Pahlawan in Melaka and finished on Jalan Rahmat in Batu Pahat, Johor. Although the predominantly flat route was expected to end in a bunch sprint, an early seven-rider breakaway disrupted the sprinters' plans.
As the race progressed, the lead group was reduced to four riders, who worked together to maintain their advantage over the chasing peloton.
In the decisive finale, the 22-year-old Gimeno launched his sprint at the right moment and held off Mario Aparicio of Burgos Burpellet-BH and Andrei Stepanov of Wheeltop ROTOR Chengdu Continental Team to secure a memorable victory.
Gimeno completed the stage in 3 hours, 12 minutes and 33 seconds, finishing 33 seconds ahead of the main peloton, which was led home by Stage 6 winner Riley Pickrell of Modern Adventure Cycling Team.
Speaking after the stage, Gimeno admitted he was still struggling to believe he had secured his first professional victory.
"I am so happy. In fact, I still can't believe it. It feels like being on the moon."
For Gimeno, the victory carried significance beyond his personal breakthrough. With the future of Equipo Kern Pharma uncertain, he hoped the result could also help the team attract continued support.
"This is a meaningful victory, not just for me, but for all my teammates, the staff and the team management. I hope today's win can convince our sponsors, or new sponsors, to help this team survive."
Gimeno made his Tour de Langkawi debut in 2025, finishing 51st overall and third in the King of the Mountains classification. One year later, he returned to Malaysia to celebrate the biggest breakthrough of his young career.
Despite the successful breakaway, the major classification leaders remained unchanged after Stage 7.
Tudor Pro Cycling Team's German rider Lennart Jasch safely retained the overall leader's orange jersey and continued to hold a 26-second advantage over Abel Balderstone of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA.
With no classified climbs on the stage, Jasch also retained the King of the Mountains polka-dot jersey with a four-point advantage over Petr Rikunov of Wheeltop ROTOR Chengdu Continental Team.
With just one stage remaining, Jasch admitted that his first Tour de Langkawi overall victory was beginning to feel increasingly within reach.
"We are getting closer to the final stage and it may look easy, but in reality everyone worked extremely hard today. I couldn't believe the speed of the front group."
"Tomorrow is the final day, and I just have to hold on."
The battle for the blue sprint jersey remains considerably tighter. XDS Astana Team's Matteo Malucelli, winner of Stages 1 and 3, leads the sprint classification with 49 points, only four ahead of Pickrell on 45 points.
The two sprinters will therefore take their battle for the blue jersey into the final stage.
Meanwhile, Yuhi Todome of Aisan Racing Team retained the white jersey as Best Asian Rider, holding a 3-minute, 44-second advantage over Malaysian rider Tsen Ren Bao of St George Continental Cycling Team.
Terengganu Cycling Team's Dutch rider Adne van Engelen, who was also part of the day's breakaway, received the Most Combative Rider award.
The eighth and final stage of the 2026 Tour de Langkawi will take riders from Muar to Putrajaya over 188.3km. The route features three intermediate sprint zones and one Category 3 climb at Bukit Mantin before the finish in Putrajaya.
Another bunch sprint is expected, although Stage 7 showed that a successful breakaway cannot be ruled out.
With Jasch just one stage away from the overall title, much of the final day's suspense will center on the battle between Malucelli and Pickrell for the blue jersey, bringing the 30th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi to its decisive conclusion.
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