PUTRAJAYA: For the first time in the history of the competition, the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) will finish in the historic city of Malacca.
The 21st edition of the race has also been brought forward to Feb 24, and will run until Mar 2, after the original date of March 6 to 13 clashed with a number of other events on the UCI race calendar.
LTdL chief executive officer Emir Abdul Jalal said the midweek finish ruled out ending the race at Dataran Merdeka, where it has been done in previous years.
"As the final stage will be on a Wednesday it is not possible to finish the race at Dataran Merdeka due to the traffic," said Emir, at the LTdL route launch in Putrajaya today.
"There are no problems from a traffic perspective in Malacca and we have been given approval from the state to do the final stage there. Having the race there will also help promote tourism in the state."
The race will be without its traditional queen stage in Genting Highlands for a second year in a row due to construction work being carried out at the hilltop resort while Langkawi has also been left out this year due to budget constraints.
LTdL 2016 route (total distance 1182.4km):
Stage 1 (Feb 24): Kangar-Baling (165.5km)
Stage 2 (Feb 25): Sungai Petani-Georgetown (159.8km)
Stage 3 (Feb 26): Kulim-Kuala Kangsar (107km)
Stage 4 (Feb 27): Ipoh-Cameron Highlands (129.5km)
Stage 5 (Feb 28): Tapah-Kuala Lumpur (149.9km)
Stage 6 (Feb 29): Putrajaya-Rembau (147.6km)
Stage 7 (March 1): Seremban-Parit Sulong (203.2km)
Stage 8 (March 2): Batu Pahat-Malacca (119.9km)