{
  "id": 10905249,
  "title": "Russian Rikunov grabs stage win in LTdL",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/russian-rikunov-grabs-stage-win-in-ltdl",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-30T09:02:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/cycling/2026/09/1544685/russian-rikunov-grabs-stage-win-ltdl"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian rider Petr Rikunov won Stage 4 of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on Wednesday, capturing the 142.3km race from Meru Raya to Cameron Highlands in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 12 seconds. The 29-year-old edged out Caja Rural-Seguros RGA's Javier Ibanez by three seconds, with TotalEnergies rider Alan Jousseaume finishing third, nine seconds behind. The victory was particularly significant for Rikunov, who last claimed a stage win in Stage 7 of the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai 2025 in China on July 12 last year. Rikunov's team, Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team, had initially planned to focus on the general classification (GC) with Jonathan Klever Caicedo, but after a difficult Stage 2, they shifted their strategy to targeting stage wins. Rikunov targeted the breakaway at the start of the race, believing that a substantial gap into the climb would make it difficult for others to catch them. He waited for the right moment to attack, putting in maximum effort in the final kilometre and not looking back. In the general classification, Lennart Jasch of Tudor Pro Cycling Team retained the overall lead with a time of 15:46:50, with Caja Rural-Seguros RGA's Abel Balderstone and Jan Castellon in second and third places, 20 and 38 seconds behind respectively. Yuhi Todome of Aisan Racing Team led the Best Asian classification with 15:51:50, followed by Kee Zhe Yie of Terengganu Cycling Team and Tsen Ren Bao of Malaysian Tsen Ren Bao.",
  "summary": "CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Russian Petr Rikunov’s decision to switch focus from the general classification (GC) to hunting for a stage win, paid off when the Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team rider captured Stage 4 of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on Wednesday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}