Pickrell Breaks Through for Stage 6 Victory as Jasch Retains Orange Jersey
(Rembau, Malaysia, October 2) The 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi continued today with Stage 6 from Pandan Indah to Rembau, where Riley Pickrell of Modern Adventure Cycling Team finally converted two previous runner-up finishes into victory, winning the bunch sprint at the end of the 121.3km stage.
Pickrell had twice finished second behind XDS Astana Team's Italian sprinter Matteo Malucelli on Stages 1 and 3. This time, however, the 25-year-old Canadian had more power in the final sprint and secured his first stage victory of this year's Tour de Langkawi.
Making the moment even more special, Pickrell's parents, Douglas and Susan, had followed the race since the opening stage and were at the finish in Rembau to witness their son's victory.
Speaking after the stage, Pickrell said winning a stage had been one of his main objectives coming into the race.
"The goal of coming to this Tour de Langkawi was to win a stage, and it paid off today after coming so close twice before this."
Pickrell explained that the team had reviewed what went wrong in the previous sprint stages and successfully made adjustments.
"We reviewed our mistakes from previous stages and managed to rectify them today. There are two more flat stages ahead, and I will try my very best to win again."
The victory also brought Pickrell closer to Malucelli in the sprint classification. Malucelli retained the blue jersey with 44 points, while Pickrell moved to 39 points, leaving only a five-point gap between the two main contenders.
For Malucelli, the stage proved more difficult after two consecutive days in the mountains.
"The peloton moved at a fast pace, and I struggled a bit after those climbs. My teammates had to wait and pull me back into the pack."
The Italian acknowledged that Pickrell was simply stronger on the day.
"Credit to him. He had more energy today, and sometimes my strategy just doesn't work."
Despite missing out on another victory, Malucelli said he would continue targeting wins on the remaining flat stages.
In the general classification, Tudor Pro Cycling Team's German rider Lennart Jasch safely retained the orange leader's jersey. He also added more points to his King of the Mountains tally, strengthening his position in the polka-dot jersey competition.
Jasch held a 42-second advantage over Jan Castellon Ribalt of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA in the general classification, while his lead over Petr Rikunov of Wheeltop ROTOR Chengdu Continental Team in the mountains classification stood at four points.
Jasch stressed that keeping both jerseys was far from easy despite his strong position in the race.
"Every jersey demands respect and is very valuable. Now there are only two stages left, and we will continue to give our best in every stage."
"Although it looks easy, the reality is far from it because we are forced to work hard every day to keep an eye on our closest rivals, chase down breakaways and control the pace."
The stage was raced under scorching conditions, with an early breakaway eventually growing to seven riders, including Stage 4 winner Rikunov.
XDS Astana and Tudor Pro Cycling controlled the chase from the peloton, eventually neutralizing the remaining breakaway attempts inside the final seven kilometers and setting up the expected bunch sprint in Rembau.
In the Best Asian Rider classification, Yuhi Todome of Aisan Racing Team safely retained the white jersey.
Stage 7 will take the peloton from Melaka to Batu Pahat over 158.9km. With three intermediate sprint zones and a predominantly flat profile, another battle between the fast men is expected.
With only two stages remaining, Jasch is moving ever closer to the overall Tour de Langkawi title. At the same time, the battle for the blue jersey remains wide open, with just five points separating Malucelli and Pickrell heading into the final two days.
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