KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian fans had plenty to cheer about as Nur Aiman Rosli and Izzat Hilmi Abdul Halil secured a 1-2 finish in the second stage of the Tour of Thailand today.
Time trial specialist Aiman (Terengganu Cycling Team) was in his element as he launched an attack from over 20km out.
He rode solo to the win in four hours, 39 minutes and 17 seconds with the chasing pack just 10 seconds behind him at the finish line.
Izzat (Malaysia Pro Cycling) was first among the chasers, while stage one winner Lucas Carstensen (Roojai Insurance) completed the podium.
Aiman's TSG teammate Irwandie Lakasek crossed the line sixth, in the same group as Izzat.
It was Izzat's second podium finish of the tour after placing third in the opening stage.
The second stage, which started and finished at the Sukhothai Historical Park, was 202.3km long, the longest in the tour this year.
Aiman was visibly delighted to secure his first UCI level stage win with TSG.
He was previously on the books at Team Sapura Cycling from 2019 until it closed down last year. Izzat is also an ex-Sapura rider and was with them from 2017-2019.
"The weather was challenging. It was between 38°C to 40°C, but we came prepared," said Aiman.
"We executed our strategy well and I just tried my best to conserve my energy in the last 20km until the finish.
"I will try my best to maintain my performance levels in the last four stages of the tour."
The third stage tomorrow will begin at Sukhothai Historical Park and end with a summit finish at Ban Rak Thai, covering a distance of 128.3km.
The category one climb features a maximum gradient of 12 per cent.