The Tour de Langkawi start list for 2017 is packed with Italian sprinters, but on Wednesday afternoon it was Australian Scott Sunderland raising his arms in triumph at the conclusion of stage 1.
The former track sprint World and Commonwealth Games champion has been making the transition towards the road since the end of 2013. His stage win ahead of Dimension Data neo-pro Ryan Gibbons and Nicolas Marini (Nippo-Vini Fantini) in Kuala Terengganu was arguably his best since his decision to leave the velodrome behind.
"Being at a HC [hors catégorie] tour it's phenomenal for me and being a sprint tour I think it's great to know that I can do it against some of the biggest teams in the world," Sunderland told Cyclingnews and Eurosport.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Sunderland enjoyed his personal success, it was also a day of note for IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness, who are making their debut at the race.
"Getting that start was what we needed and then showing we have the strength to back it up, it's great for us," Sunderland said of Australia's premier Continental squad.
Sunderland's first full season on the road came in 2015 with the now-defunct Budget Forklifts team. Sunderland won several stages across the National Road Series (NRS) calendar that year, but it was his victory at Australia's longest one-day race, the Melbourne to Warrnambool, which hinted at his full road potential.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2lG1vWA
No comments:
Post a Comment