The five day stage race of the Jelajah, started off calmly on day 1, but the team fought strongly on day 2 to take the stage win with Johann Rabie. Rabie spent most of the day in a large break away group along with Malcolm Lange. In some action in the final kilometers Rabie escaped with David McCann of Ireland and the two arrived at the finish together, Rabie besting the Giant Asia rider in the sprint for the stage, but McCann took a solid hold on the lead of the tour, (eventually keeping his lead until the end)
Rabie opens the score for Team Medscheme
The third stage had Team Medscheme on the attack again in the form of Waylon Woolcock in the escape group. The leaders team's controlled the break away to perfection, and they were caught in sight of the finish. Medscheme had more plans, and Malcolm Lange proved victorious in the bunch sprint finish! To make the victory even sweeter, Arran Brown was the runner up, proving that he had fully recovered from his injury of earlier in the year!
Lange and Brown make it 1 - 2
With this stage win, Malcolm took over the green jersey as leader of the Points classification, as well as fifth place overall.
Malcolm Lange wins the Green
The fourth stage was a quiet one for the team, as a break escaped without riders dangerous to the general classification, and they stayed clear to win. Malcolm Lange took a solid hold of the green jersey by winning the bunch sprint for 6th place on the day.
In the final stage Waylon Woolcock once again found the right move, and this time it was to stick, as they stayed clear to the end. However a wily Australian, Mark O'Brien, from the Malaysian Le Tua team jumped clear of the others in the final kilometers to win the stage. Waylon finished third, and soon the bunch arrived in a sprint, with Malcolm Lange winning the race for 5th, solidifying his points competition win!
Under a jet of water cooling off after the final stage!
The team ended the Jelajah Malaysia with Malcolm in fifth place overall and winning the Points Classification. Team Medscheme also finished second in the team competition, losing to Le Tua from Malaysia. The stage wins of Rabie and Lange were a big highlight, and Johann Rabie finished as the runner up in the King of the Mountains competition!
All the teams travelled by ferry directly after that final stage, across to Langkawi Island, for the final race, the Langkawi Criterium. This race that took place the following day was a race of a difference.
The 80km criterium was ridden as a points race, similar to a track race, with 40 laps of a 2km circuit, and points on the line after every 5 laps. The points structure with five places on the line each time - 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The winner would be the rider with most points accumulated.
The points race Langkawi Criterium
The race split early with Rabie, Brown and Kachelhoffer making the right move for Team medscheme. Kachelhoffer was riding strongly, so Brown dedicated himself to helping, and they both made the smaller split. Hanco won the most points by the finish to win the race!
Hanco waiting for the podium celebration after his win!
The team that had travelled to Malaysia: Malcolm Lange, Arran Brown, Hanco Kachelhoffer, Waylon Woolcock, Johann Rabie and Luthando Kaka. They have gained valuable experience and depth with their performances over the week.
Images from
www.jelajahmalaysia.com