CAMERON HIGHLANDS — St George Continental Cycling Team’s Tsen Ren Bao emerged as the fastest local rider in Stage 4 of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), completing the 142.3-kilometre route from Meru Raya to Cameron Highlands in 3 hours, 30 minutes, and 58 seconds to place 39th overall. The 23-year-old Malaysian cyclist expressed particular satisfaction in finishing ahead of his younger brother, Tsen Ren Han, who is making his LTdL debut with the national team.

“I didn’t see him at all, so that’s a good sign,” Ren Bao said after the race. The sibling rivalry is expected to intensify in Stage 5, the queen stage, which involves a demanding climb to Genting Highlands. Ren Bao acknowledged his 19-year-old brother’s strength on steep gradients, describing him as “a really light rider, so he’s really good on the steeper climbs.” He added that he was “really excited to go one-on-one with him in Genting.”

Despite his strong overall performance, Ren Bao admitted to making a tactical error in the final kilometre of Stage 4, where he was late to respond to a crucial attack. This mistake cost him valuable seconds in the Best Asian Rider standings, impacting his position in the white jersey competition. As a result, Ren Bao now holds third place in the blue jersey standings with a cumulative time of 15 hours, 52 minutes, and 40 seconds. He trails race leader Yuhi Todome of the Aisan Racing Team by 50 seconds, who leads with a time of 15:51:50. Kee Zhe Yie of the Terengganu Cycling Team sits second with 15:52:25.

Ren Bao also noted that overall, the race was encouraging, citing his previous experience as the fastest local rider up Fraser’s Hill in last year’s LTdL.

Stage 5 on Thursday covers a 125.7-kilometre course from Tapah to Genting Highlands and features three intermediate sprints at Slim River, Tanjung Malim, and Batang Kali. The stage concludes with a challenging Hors Category climb reaching an elevation of 1,629 metres. This marks the first time since 2011 that the peloton will face consecutive Hors Category climbs in the race, underscoring the stage’s difficulty and potential for significant shifts in the race standings.