KUALA LUMPUR: Costa Rican youngster Kevin Rivera emerged victorious in the queen stage of Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) today but it was second placed Danilo Celano who moved into the overall lead in Genting Highlands.
Two kilometres from the finish, the duo timed their moves to perfection to overtake Terengganu Cycling Team's Artem Ovechkin, who had led for much of the last 10 kilometres.
Rivera of Team Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, won the 156.1km stage, which started in Putrajaya and ended in Genting Highlands, in four hours, 18 minutes and 55 seconds. Celano of Team Sapura Cycling was second.
Rivera, who had dropped over 10 minutes in the opening stage, was not a threat in the general classification (GC), going into the fourth stage.
Celano's result, however, saw him take charge of the Petronas yellow jersey from Vino-Astana Motors’ Yevgeniy Fedorov, who finished the stage in fourth place.
Celano, a new signing by Sapura, now leads the GC with a 30-second lead over second placed Fedorov.
There was some good news for Malaysian fans as Celano's Sapura teammate Nur Aiman Zariff strengthened his grip on the Red Jersey (climbers classification) after winning the classified climbs at Ampang Lookout Point, Selayang and Rawang.