LANGKAWI: Having tasted the white jersey briefly last year, Terengganu Cycling Team's (TSG) Nur Aiman Rosli is determined to go all out in the Asian riders classification at Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) which starts on Sunday (Sept 29).
Aiman said he will try all he can to move into the lead and hang on to the white jersey until the end of the eight stage UCI ProSeries tour.
The 25-year-old wore white for one stage in LTdL last year when he was riding for the Malaysia national team. He joined TSG at the end of last year.
"The plan is definitely to take the white jersey, I will work very hard to make it happen," said Aiman who arrived in Langkawi today (Sept 27).
"The third, fourth and fifth stages will be crucial so I have to do my best to conserve energy in the first two stages.
"The climb up to Cameron Highlands in the third stage is not as steep as Genting Highlands (excluded this year) but the challenge will be to keep up with the pace set by the WorldTeams competing.
"It is likely they will put the hammer down to try and break up the peloton.
"If I am able to take the white jersey, we will then work out a plan to try and defend it to the end.
"I believe our main rivals in the Asian riders classification will be the guys from JCL Team Ukyo (Japan) as well as Astana Qazaqstan's Vadmin Pronskiy, who is a very strong climber."
The third stage from Taiping to Cameron Highlands (170.3 kilometres) and fourth stage from Kuala Kubu Bharu to Bentong (131.2km) feature the toughest climbs and are likely to decide the overall winner of the tour.
The fifth stage from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka (167.3km) also features three categorised climbs.
Aiman has had a strong season this year, winning a stage at the Tour of Thailand in April and also finishing second in the mountains classification at the Tour of Istanbul earlier this month.
He missed out on the podium after finishing an agonising fourth in the Asian Championships road race in Kazakhstan (June).
"I am not satisfied yet, I want to end the season on a positive note and I hope to achieve that here at LTdL," added Aiman.
Aiman was previously on the books at Team Sapura Cycling between 2020-2023 but had limited opportunities to race during that period due to Covid-19 restrictions.