Place a lightweight fighter two weight divisions higher against a welterweight boxer, and they'll struggle to compete. IsoWhey Sports SwissWellness were the proverbial fighter in the ring at the Tour de Langkawi coming out swinging with a stage 1 victory and finishing the eight-stage race atop of the team classification.
The Australian Continental team ended their first participation at the 2.HC race with Cam Bayly second on the general classification, a stage win and day in yellow with Scott Sunderland, numerous top 10s, and victory in the team classification, proving neither size nor budget is a hindrance to success.
Considering the team was on the brink of folding late last year, the phoenix-like resurrection made the results and performance all that much sweeter, as team manager Andrew Christie-Johnston explained to Cyclingnews.
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"It is only passion that keeps us going. I went through a pretty dark time myself, to be honest. It is hard to lose a sponsor and lose them late," Christie-Johnston said of former sponsors Avanti. "That is bike racing. We understand, and we rallied together. I am glad we made the right decision. This year I have a talented bunch of great guys with a new sponsor on board, and we are proud that they have. I hope that we will do the right things by our sponsors."
Two of the team's new recruits in SSunderland, stage 1 winner and first yellow jersey wearer, and Bayly were star performers across the week, but with three riders in the top 10 on GC and Anthony Giacoppo twice a runner-up, it was a collective effort in Malaysia.
"You need everyone on the team to step up to the plate if you want to take on this. We are not one to sit in the bunch and roll along. We took on Dimension Data on many stages, and at the end of the day, they were simply too good. We didn't stop trying, and we had a crack today," he said of the team's attempt to move Bayly into the yellow jersey.
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